Lost
by Lady Oracle12
Summary: AU Minato alive. This is a crossover the story, but takes place in Konoha. Tadashi Kikyo left home to get training after the death of her family. Upon returning she is placed on a squad with a jerk, blonde moron, and her buzz kill cousin. There will b DBZ references, attacks, ch mentions and a few appearances but they don't have a major role. OC pov
1. The Next Generation

The dark haired boy stood in the middle of the sacred field and scanned the four swords that were positioned from north to south and east to west. He swallowed the lump in his throat and stood firm. He was Tadashi Ryunashi, next head of the Tadashi clan and there was no way he was going to let something as stupid as nerves get the best of him. Tonight was the night of his Ken no Keisho, it didn't matter if he was only ten years old because he had mastered his clan's sword style and now he could take on the responsibility of his own sword and become an adult.

First the boy faced north, where Tengokusaya lay. Its previous wielder had died and the honored blade had yet to move on. Part of Ryunashi hoped the sword didn't choose him simply because even though the beautiful white nodachi was considered powerful, the blade couldn't be used to injury any living thing. Pretty dumb if you think about it. Ryunashi reached out his hand and let out a sigh of relief when his palm passed right through the handle, the sentient's typical method of rejection.

The crowd of clansmen remained quiet as Ryunashi walked to the western corner where the scarlet nodachi, Kyuketsukitou, was positioned. The boy's uncle, Tatsuo, stood behind the blade. When the time came for a Ken no Keisho all the previous owners of the Four Sacred Sword must willingly hand over their blades to see if they change their allegiance to one of the next generation. Tatsuo-ojisan didn't look too pleased at the thought of handing over the blade. Kyuketsukitou was the kind of sword anyone would be proud to possess. That sword could make even the tiniest of wounds in the most insignificant of places become fatal injuries. Ryunashi extended his hand and gripped the handle only to retract a second later, allowing a yelp of pain escape as sharp thorns protruded from the sword and imbedded themselves into his palm. Okay, so that would be a no.

Ryunashi huffed as he continued down to the south where Naraku was placed. He passed it slowly and eyed the deadly sword that could kill anything it touches. The boy's eyes darted up to its owner before glancing back at the ground. The current head of the clan stood behind Naraku as she lifted an eyebrow at the boy.

"Keep going Ryunashi. You know damn well Naraku is off limits to even attempt until you turn sixteen. The only reason it and I are here are for ceremonial reasons," she told the boy in a sharp tone.

"Yes Mother." Ryunashi bowed his head and slowly continued onward to the last sword, passing very closely to a white haired man and a small white haired boy that was on the man's shoulders.

"Don't look so down Nii-san! You can do it!" The idiot boy cheered loudly over the silent crowd.

"Come on Ryunashi! Chin up! Once this is over we'll go celebrate!" The man joined in.

"Bakuryuu! Kenshin!" The woman gave them both a dangerous look from over where she was with her sword, causing them both to jump.

"Sorry Dear! I was just trying to cheer him up!" The man scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"This is a serious coming of age ceremony. Both of you can it before I throw you out!"

"S-Sorry, Mama." Bakuryuu scratched the back of his head, mirroring his father.

Ryunashi rolled his eyes really wishing he wasn't related to any of them as he finally faced east and approached the purple and black katana called Hogoken. His uncle, Ryumaru, stood behind the blade with a very stern expression on his face as the boy reached out his hand for the fourth and final time. This was it, if Hogoken rejected him the Ryunashi, the next head of the Tadashi clan wouldn't possess any of the sacred clan swords and he'd be a laughing stock. Maybe it was the fear of the rejection or maybe it was just the pressure from it all but Ryunashi froze. His eyes were shut tight and he thought of everything that could possibly go wrong. He thought of how he'd let everyone down and how he _needed_ this to work. Suddenly, something flew into his hand as though he were a magnet attracting a metal. The boy's eyes flew open to see that Hogoken was in his hand. There was an eruption of cheers from the crowd, the most profound being his younger brother and father. Ryunashi turned around and watched as his clansmen rushed and congratulated the boy, shaking his hand and ruffling his already messy looking black hair.

"Not a bad sword to end up with, Runt." His mother clapped her hand on his shoulder, nearly scaring the boy into next week!

Ryunashi held his new katana out at arm's length and unsheathed it from the black scabbard that was decorated with purple diamonds and eyed the katana in wonder. The metal of it was mostly black except for that actual blade that shone a deep purple color.

"Congratulations Ryunashi, you are now the proud owner of Hogoken, the Tadashi's prized Blade of Protection." He was told as he sheathed his new sword.

~Abata Izumi~

"Ryunashi Nii-san! Ryunashi Nii-san!" The boy with messy black hair lifted his head from his studies to see his little brother pulling at him.

"What?" He lifted an eyebrow skeptically. If that idiot and Father were doing something stupid again…

"Mama is back!" He shook his brother's sleeve as though it was the most exciting thing ever. Well, in times of war it probably was.

"Okay, I'll come and greet her in a moment once I'm done." The dark haired boy glanced back down to the notes.

"But, but-but-but!" The white haired boy leaned in and glanced sideways as though he were about to tell a secret. "She brought someone!" He tried to whisper, but he epically failed.

"Who?"

"A girl~!"

"…Oh." Ryunashi lifted an eyebrow once more. His brother was a complete mess around girls. Awkward little bastard.

"Boys!" They heard their father call.

"Oi, runts one and two!" And there was dear old mom.

Ryunashi groaned as he rubbed his temples and followed his brother out into the main hall. The boys saw their father standing there with a wide grin on his face. His white, messy hair tied in a low ponytail and his grey eyes lit up with his smile.

Their mother wore her usual slight scowl, Naraku hung over the brunette's shoulder from behind her jonin uniform. Her hand was on the shoulder of a much smaller person that stood behind their father.

"Mama! I'm so glad you're back!" Bakuryuu exclaimed with his arms wide as though he expected her to bend down and embrace him.

"Me too squirt, but I'll be heading back out in a few days. We're making progress and they need me on the front line." She reached her arm out and ruffled his hair and the boy gripped his mother's arm tightly and hugged it with his scrawny arms.

"Don't you worry about a thing here. I'll hold down the fort!" the boys' father proclaimed proudly as he beat a fist on his chest.

The woman rolled her eyes. "That's what I'm worried about." She smirked as a dark cloud appeared over her husband's head. "Anyway." She had gotten off topic. "I mainly came back to the village for supplies and to drop something off." She eyes shot to the smaller person that was hiding behind her. "Well, come out runt, we don't have all day," she said but her words lacked harshness and she wore a small smile on her face.

The boys' father instantly stopped moping and greeted the hiding figure. "Hi there! My name is Kenshin! It's so nice to meet you!"

The tiny figure stepped out enough for Ryunashi to get a good look. Like his brother had told him, it was a girl. She looked to be about his age with straight, long brown hair, blue eyes, and very fair skin. Even though the girl looked emaciated with were dark circles under her eyes Ryunashi could easily tell that she was very pretty, or she would be once she was back to full health.

"I'm Bakuryuu!" Ryunashi's brother bounced around like a spring. He turned to his brother, waiting for him to introduce himself as well.

The dark haired boy sighed before making a deep, respectful bow. "Tadashi Ryunashi, it is an honor to meet you."

She batted her dark lashes and looked up to the woman for approval. "Go on." She gestured her head.

That seemed to be all the encouragement the child needed before she gave them a kind smile that could stop traffic if it wanted to. "My name is Izumi, it's very nice to meet you."

"Izumi, the main bathroom is down the hall to the left. You can go in there and freshen up while we fix you some food." Tatsuya told her.

The young girl looked hesitant to leave the woman's side to venture into the unfamiliar home, but finally relented and proceeded cautiously down the hallway into the bathroom.

"Will she be living with us?" Ryunashi asked.

"You got a problem with that?" She lifted an eyebrow, daring him to challenge her.

"No," he answered coldly before going back to his studies.

What did he care if some strange girl was in their home anyway?

~seven years later~

"What?!" Uzumaki Kushina exclaimed dramatically. God, why did Ryunashi have to have such a loud teammate? "You're going to get married already?!" Out of their little group of friends that were gathered at the moment she was the only one blowing it out of proportion.

"Hehe!" Izumi showed her roommate and close friend the ring. The redhead gawked at the piece of jewelry.

"I'm very happy for you." Minato smiled kindly at the couple.

"We should celebrate with some dango." Senju Inoue offered.

"Yes! Let's go!" Bakuryuu exclaimed excitedly, possibly hoping it would turn into a date for him.

"Come on guys! Doesn't it seem kinda soon to everyone else, dattebane?!" Kushina attempted to get the others on board with her exaggerations.

"Not at all Kushina-san, it's actually about the average for those in our clan." Bakuryuu told her brightly. "We don't really have the long lifespans that the Uzumaki or really a normal person does so it's always a good idea to start young because you won't get to be old." Bakuryuu laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"That's morbid, Bakuryuu!" Inoue scolded.

"That's Tadashi," both Tadashi boys announced in unison. They had no idea what it meant to be Tadashi.

"And might I remind you that I'm already seventeen so I'm perfectly of age," Izumi stated, reminding the others.

"Hey Izumi," Kushina leaned in with a sly look in her eye and a hand to the side of her mouth as though she were about to whisper a secret. "You're not pregnant are you?" The other five face faulted. Obviously she didn't whisper quietly enough.

"No she's not!" Ryunashi was ready to beat her upside the head.

"Kushina…" Minato had his hand attached to his face and Inoue was pinching the bridge of her nose.

"… You're not are you?!" Bakuryuu exclaimed like the idiot he was.

"No! She's not!" Ryunashi had absolutely no qualms at all over smacking his brother.

"Kushina," the green haired Senju said. "You didn't say any of this when Mikoto got married last year."

"But Mikoto's marriage was arranged, not to mention she's a few years older than us," the red-head stated, reminding them that her and Ryunashi's other teammate was three years older than they were.

"Oh Kushina, have you heard what she's having yet?" Izumi added excitedly.

"No, what?!" The Uzumaki was now nearly bouncing.

"She's having a boy!"

"That's great! Let's go get her too and we can celebrate with ramen!"

"I thought we were going to celebrate with dango?" Inoue crossed her arms and pouted.

"Fine." Kushina rolled her eyes a little. "Let's celebrate with some ramen and then get some dango!"

"Hey!"

"Bakuryuu," Ryunashi caught his brother's attention on their way back to the compound. "Have you heard about Tomoe?" he inquired about their little cousin.

The white haired teen blinked several times. "What about little Tomoe-chan?"

"She's finished mastering the clan's sword style." He frowned at his brother.

"She _what_?!" His jaw dropped to the ground. "She's six years old for God's sake!"

"And yet she has a Ken no Keisho scheduled for the day after tomorrow."

"That's-that's—"

"While you, whom I might add is seven years older than her, have yet to even _request_ one."

"Hey! I'm waiting until I turn sixteen so I can go on and get all four done with at once! It seems dumb to go back years later and do it again just to try for Naraku."

"Most people don't because few even finish before they're sixteen, but you've had our Nisshoku style almost as long as I have. This just makes you seem lazy." He was going to make the head family look lazy and weak. "Are you sure you even _want_ to try Naraku?"

"Yeah!"

"You say that like it could be fun."

"Who knows, it could be!"

"No it's not. I've tried it remember? Two days of being tested by that damned sword in a nightmare genjutsu and I nearly had my arm cut off because of it."

"Haha! I remember! You puked—never mind." Bakuryuu waved innocently with sweat drops on his head.

The day after that the two spectated their little cousin's Ken no Keisho and watched as the six-year-old chose a direction to begin in and worked her way clockwise from there. To the absolute and utter astonishment of everyone present at the ceremony a sword did choose the little, dark haired girl, but not just any blade. Kyuketsukitou, a scarlet nodachi that specializes in leaving marks and wound to where they can't heal. Bakuryuu had better watch his ass or she'd possibly actually kill him next time he's late for training.

~Good News~

"Ryunashi," Izumi said with a smile across her face. "I have something to tell you." Her eyes gleamed with excitement.

"What?" Ryunashi looked up from his mission report to his new wife.

"Something exciting." Her smile widened.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Okay." The shinobi closed his mission report to better listen to her.

"Ryunashi… I'm pregnant!" she practically squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We're going to have a baby! Isn't that exciting?!"

"Oh." Ryunashi furrowed his brow, he wasn't necessarily surprised, but became worried. Not about Izumi of course. The woman was a natural born mother and loved children more than anything else, but him… Ryunashi wasn't exactly _good_ with children. They were loud, drooly, impatient, and they didn't abide by logic so he often quickly lost his temper with them making him look a baby-hating tyrant or something.

"Oh?" She detached herself from him and gave him a concerned look. "I tell you that you're going to be a daddy and all you can say is 'oh'?"

"Okay?" God, he didn't know! He was in shock dammit!

"Okay? Okay?!" She threw her arms out and pushed him away. "I can't believe you!"

Ryunashi blinked several times. "What am I supposed to do then?"

"I don't know! Say that it's wonderful and tell me that you're excited and kiss me or something!" She obviously didn't know him well enough. Hopefully her friends would take the news much better than her husband did, if not she would be almost impossible to live with.

"Ha!" Kushina exclaimed, waving her dango and pointing across the table. "I knew it! I knew you were pregnant!" Mikoto laughed quietly into her hand while bouncing her little baby, Itachi, on her knee and Inoue gave the Uzumaki a bland look.

"Kushina, sweety she wasn't pregnant before the wedding," Mikoto was able to say between giggles.

"What?" She held a question mark over her head.

"That's what the honeymoon is for." Inoue finished for the Uchiha.

"I…" Kushina held her finger up as though she were going to say something but stopped before turning redder than her hair.

"There it is."

"Oh man, poor Minato." Inoue shook her head and the other two women laughed.

Nine months later Ryunashi and Izumi had their first child, a beautiful baby girl they named Kitsune. Everyone had a fit over the quiet, well-mannered infant and were always fighting for her attention. The young parents would watch in amusement as others fought over the pretty little baby girl.

~Naraku~

"About fucking time!" Tatsuya exclaimed as she threw her hands up in the air from her work desk.

"You don't have to sound so mean about it, Mother~" Bakuryuu whined like a child.

"It can't be helped." Ryunashi crossed his arms. "We were beginning to wonder if you'd ever have your Ken no Keisho."

"I thought we were wondering if he'd ever get a date." Tatsuya added.

"That too."

"You two are mean~" Bakuryuu cried comical tears and a dark cloud hovered over his head, but he bounced back up with a wide grin on his face. "But you were both wrong so ha! I got Inoue to say yes! So ha-ha-ha, in your faces!" He pointed and exclaimed only to shrink down from the dangerously dark looks he was receiving from his mother and older brother. "Hehe, so… When is it going to be?" he asked sheepishly.

"Ryunashi can organize it." Tatsuya waved it off to her older son.

"But Mother, doesn't the head normally deal with these kinds of matters?" Ryunashi lifted an eyebrow at his mother. How dare she try and push her responsibilities on him?

"Exactly." She smirked. "I think it's about time I step down anyway and enjoy my last few years. Hell, maybe I can even get back out there and end the Third Great Shinobi War without having to constantly return to the village and worry about clan issues."

"Mother, are you saying—"

"Congrats, Son." She slapped Ryunashi's back and he had to struggle not to fall on his face from the force. "You just go promoted."

"Oh come now Mother, you're retiring so soon?" Bakuryuu asked.

"I'm thirty-six Bakuryuu." She gave him a serious look and the teen bit his lip, wishing he hadn't said anything. "I'm surprised I've made it this far as it is."

"Yep, you're probably going to bite it within three years at most." Ryunashi was organizing papers.

"At least I got to the ripe old age of thirty-six."

"Here, here," her sons said.

It only took a few days for Ryunashi to officially take over as head of the clan and the day after that way his little brother's Ken no Keisho. Ryunashi scanned the large crowd of not only Tadashi, but Uchiha and a few others who had gathered to watch Bakuryuu be tested. The idiot sure did make a lot of friends.

"So, which do you think will choose him?" Uchiha Fugaku asked as he and Mikoto joined Ryunashi near Hogoken, their four-year-old son Itachi was gripping his mother's hand tightly.

"Beats me." He shrugged his shoulders. "My best guess would be Hogoken, but—"

"Something tells me that would irritate you like nothing else, Ryu-kun," Mikoto laughed.

"Took the words straight from my mouth," he grumbled back.

"Ryunashi-san," little Itachi looked up to him. "Where is Kitsune?"

The man pointed over near Kyuketsukitou and Tomoe were positioned. "She's down there with Tomoe and Izumi." He could see this three-year-old holding a conversation with the twelve-year-old like they were both adults.

"Do you want to go say hello Itachi?" His mother asked kindly and the boy nodded, pulling her along.

"But anyway," Ryunashi turned back to the other clan head and got back on topic. "Bakuryuu waited this long so he could try out Naraku."

Then other stern man lifted an eyebrow skeptically. "Didn't you nearly lose your arm trying that thing?"

Ryunashi's eyebrow twitched.

"So that's a yes. I swear, you Tadashi are as weird as they come."

"Oh, is that why the Uchiha have been our closest allied clan for centuries? No, wait, it's because we pulled your Katoned asses from the fire every time you hot heads have gotten in trouble over the last two hundred years. You can't pick your family, but your comrades are a different story." He scoffed back. The Tadashi and Uchiha have had a very strong alliance that went back farther than that of any other known clans. Even now as the Uchiha headed the police department in Konoha, the Tadashi were in charge of the forensic and investigative forces that partnered with the police.

That shut Fugaku up (good) and the two men watched as Bakuryuu began from the east and attempted to lift Hogoken… which zapped the idiot backwards a little. "Oh come on you mean sword! How can my brother be more protective than me?" he exclaimed dramatically with a pout as he moved on to the north where Tengokusaya lay on its pedestal… and also where the overly excited idiot passed straight through the sword and landed with his face full of grass. Ryunashi lifted an eyebrow as his brother marched to the west and halted in front of Kyuketsukitou where little Tomoe's black pixie cut hairstyle that was tipped in red at the ends could barely be seen from behind her over-sized sword and was giving him a look that said 'you better not touch my fucking sword!'.

Bakuryuu swallowed a lump in his throat and reached out. "No! Don't you dare!" She pointed her finger at him.

"But Tomoe-chan—"

"Kyuketsukitou is _mine_!"

"But you have to at least let me try. That's the rules."

"I don't care." She crossed her arms like the stubborn child she was.

"Tomoe." Her father, Tatsuo, gave her a warning look. "You must respect the laws of the clan whether you like it or not."

The girl's eyebrow twitched and she crossed her arms and watched and then laughed as Bakuryuu reached out and quickly retracted his hand with it full of bloody thorns.

"Act your age, Tomoe!" He smacked the girl upside the head.

"I'm _Twelve_ Otousan. I _am_ acting my age!"

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP SO WE CAN FINISH THIS ALREADY!" A dangerous yell came from the southern end of the field from Tatsuya and everyone, even Bakuryuu who was whining while pulling thorns from his hand, shut up and shut up quick.

Finally, the moment had come for Bakuryuu to try Naraku. The teen reached his hand out for the dangerous odachi and in an instant his head drooped and he was in the sword's genjutsu, being tested by the hellish creature whose claw the sword was forged from.

"What just happened? Did it reject him?" Fugaku whispered.

"No, it's testing him now," Ryunashi told him.

"Why is he just standing there?"

"Naraku is a hellish sword that thrives on pain and suffering. You get cut by it and the flesh around your wound begins to rot away. It feels like it must flush out its own test before accepting a new master."

"… You Tadashi and your fucking weird swords."

"You can't deny that our sentient blades are the best though. The best swordsmen _and_ swordsmiths in the Elemental Nations. You can't even _touch_ any of the four sacred swords unless you're a Tadashi, even then it's not a guarantee. But Naraku, Naraku is the trickiest of the four. You touch it and the blade finds you unworthy the demon that was used to forge it will take over and possess you, killing anything that crosses its path. The only way to stop it is to detach yourself from it as soon as possible and even then if you're not fast enough it can take hold."

"Which leaves the next step which is—"

"Your arm will have to be amputated for the safety of those around you."

There was a short pause. "Why the hell do you have children at this thing then?!"

Ryunashi smirked. "Because, everyone is about to be dismissed and a few choice members of the clan are going to stay behind and keep an eye on Bakuryuu. He's going to need it. I've never even heard of anyone getting out of the genjutsu any sooner than two days."

But for Bakuryuu it didn't take two day, no, instead the poor idiot was stuck out there in that field in a nightmare genjutsu for _five_ days. A few times a clan member had to feed him an IV to make sure he didn't dehydrate. Finally though, one the evening of the fifth day Bakuryuu's head snapped up and he collapsed on the ground with the sword in his hand… and he proceeded to dry heave for about five minutes after that and then chugged nearly a gallon of water before puking that up… idiot.

But Ryunashi couldn't believe it. His brother, his stupid, bubbly, overly happy puppy-like brother was accepted by the most dangerous sword in the world. God help them all.

Through countless efforts and lost lives of courageous shinobi, Third Great Shinobi War came to an end and peace spread throughout the Elemental Nations.

"I want one so bad~" Kushina whined as she held Kitsune in her lap. The prospect of peace brought hope for the next generation and many people were taking advantage of this.

"Kushina-san," Kitsune looked up. "I don't mean to be rude… but you're crushing my ribs."

"Sorry!" Inoue, who was by that point showing some, pulled the four-year-old from the hyper red head to place in her own lap.

"Don't worry Kushina, your time will come." Mikoto giggled as she handed Itachi some dango and patted her swollen stomach.

"What do you think of all this, Itachi-kun?" Izumi leaned down to the little boy who looked up to her from his dango. "What do you think about having a little brother or sister?"

The boy considered the question for a second as he chewed. "I'm not sure," he finally answered like a little adult. "I suppose I'm excited, but the reality of the situation really hasn't sunk in yet."

"I think it would be interesting," Kitsune interjected. "It's an opportunity to show a sense of responsibility and superiority as you look after and pass on your knowledge to those under you."

"That's a fair point."

"… Are you two feeding you children dictionaries for breakfast?" Kushina gave her two friends a bland look. " _I_ don't even use words that big!"

They both laughed. "No, that's just how they are."

"Man, I hope my child has Minato's study habits but that," she pointed to the two little ones. "that right there is too much. They should be talking about candy and rainbows, dattebane!"

"Why would I talk about candy when I already have dango?"

"Here, here Itachi-kun!" Inoue raised her stick.

"And what about rainbows? They're just refracted light." Kitsune blinked at the Uzumaki from her aunt's lap.

"You see?!" Kushina exclaimed and slammed her head on the table dramatically. "…Ow."

Although Kushina didn't have to wait too much longer to get her wish. In January she quickly and loudly spread the news that she and Minato, who had risen to the rank of Hokage after the war, would be expecting their first child. The entire village knew in less than a week.

Izumi was beginning to wonder when _she_ would get another baby. She loved Kitsune and she was the whole world to her mother, but she didn't really act like a four-and-a-half-year-old should. It was like she was a tiny adult or something. And Ryunashi didn't help at all with her worries. He said it was natural for Tadashi to grow up quickly considering their lifespans. But the brunette just wanted her baby to stay little for just a bit longer.

It was March and Mikoto was showing profoundly when Izumi got the most wonderful news she could ever imagine! She was pregnant again!

Ryunashi had better damn well react appropriately this time!

on July 23rd Mikoto had her second child, she named her second son Sasuke after the Third Hokage's father. It seemed Itachi was even more excited than his parents after his little brother was born. If ever the baby would cry or yell Itachi was there almost as fast as Mikoto, sometimes he even beat her to the punch!

And, at last, in September Inoue would get to join the Mom Club as she announced that her and Bakuryuu were starting. Everything was going so wonderfully, they were all prospering and happy and maybe even their babies could become good friends too!

But the happy times didn't last too long. On the night of October 10th everything seemed too calm, too quiet, Ryunashi didn't like it. He stood outside the front of his home and felt an oddly cold breeze for this time of year. Something didn't feel right. "Izumi!" he called and his wife stepped outside, holding her pregnant stomach.

"What is it?"

"Where's Kitsune?" he asked a little too hastily.

"She's playing with Itachi and Shisui down at the Uchiha compound." The brunette seemed a little startled by his tone.

"Good, go to them and stay there," he ordered.

"Excuse you?" Shit, he should have phrased that differently, now she'll never do it. "And what gives you the right to tell me where to go? I have thinks to do around _here_ and Mikoto is being hospitable enough to look after Kitsune while I—" Suddenly there was a rumble that shook the ground under them and Ryunashi lunged to catch his wife before she fell and a horrible, monstrous roar echoed throughout the village and sent a chill up Ryunashi's spine.

"Izumi," He gripped her tighter before releasing her. "Get to Kitsune and get somewhere safe." He untied Hogoken from his hip and unsheathed the katana, handing her the scabbard. "Keep your heads down and stay hidden. You should be safe if you keep this close."

"Ryunashi, what about you?" She held the scabbard with one hand and gripped his hand with her other.

"I have to go find out what the hell that is." His head darted in the direction the roar had erupted from and cringed as another one rumbled throughout the village. "You had better be safe when I return." He placed his hand on her abdomen. "All three of you."

"You'd better damn well return." She kissed him before he took off to go defend his village.

"What's happening?" Ryunashi had found some other shinobi in the village and began inquiring them.

"I-it's a monster! It's attacking the village!" One of them, obviously a chunin that was wet behind the ears, exclaimed.

"A monster?" He turned to the other ninja.

"It's the nine-tailed fox Tadashi-san! It's getting close to the village and Hokage-sama is nowhere to be found!"

"I see." Ryunashi took off once more without another word. He and Kushina had been on the same team for years and he knew full and well she was the Jinchuriki for the nine-tailed fox. Seeing that it was out and running rampant around the village meant that she was either dead or dying. If she wasn't already dead that would mean Minato was doing everything within his power to _keep_ her alive. Ryunashi had a decision to make. He could either go and face the demon with the forces already there, or he could go search out his comrade and get the Hokage to join the fight.

The Tadashi activated his doujutsu in order to go find his comrade thinking he surely had to be around somewhere. He had a few places in mind as to where the Hokage might be and where he might hide his pregnant wife- if she was still alive- and possibly look after her. Ryunashi was outside the walls of the village when his doujutsu caught notice of someone else going in the same direction. "Tomoe! What are you doing here?!" He was able to grab his fourteen-year-old cousin by the scruff of her neck as the girl swung her arms back and forth at in, trying to reach for Kyuketsukitou.

"Let go, Ryunashi!" He set the teen down and looked her over from head to toe, making sure she was fine. The teen tapped her foot impatiently and shook her head at him for grabbing her, causing her little layered pixie cut to swing back and forth atop her head.

"Tomoe. I'll only say it one more time. What are you doing here?" Ryunashi knew village emergency protocol by heart. All women and children were to take shelter within the Hokage monument and all shinobi under the age of sixteen were to go to a designated area in order to preserve the lives of the next generation of ninja. "You're supposed to be with your peers."

"Like I couldn't get away from _that_." She scoffed. "I'm an ANBU level shinobi Ryunashi, I was able to ditch the kiddy group before they could even say 'where the fuck did Tomoe go?'." She quirked an eyebrow. "Shit's going down and Minato-sensei is nowhere to be found so I'm going to find him."

Right, Minato was Tomoe's teacher. "Do you know where he is?"

The girl gave him a snarky expression. "Like I'd just _tell_ you. If I did you'd just send me back to the playpen with all the other kids."

… Well she wasn't wrong.

"Fine, but I'm going with you and you're _not_ getting out of my sight." He eyed her with his doujutsu.

"I have the Ryugan too you know." She stuck her tongue out and pulled down her eyelid and showed off her purple iris and pupil that was shaped like a four point star with four diamonds circling it. The brat was very proud of her fully developed doujutsu.

"I don't care."

Their search for the Fourth Hokage brought the pair closer to the battlefield where shinobi were starting to gather and word had spread that the Hokage had finally been spotted near the beast but had disappeared once more.

"Ryunashi!" Fugaku spotted and called out to the other clan head. "The fox! Look at it!" he snarled.

"What? What about the fox?"

"This fox is going to cause trouble for the Uchiha clan!"

"What do you mean?" He scanned the beast over, trying his very best to find what his comrade could possibly mean by his odd words.

His search finally ended when he got a good look at the enormous beast's eye. It was the Sharingan. A Sharingan user was controlling the tailed beast and forcing it to attack Konoha. An Uchiha was attacking the village.

Well… fuck.


	2. Tadashi Kikyo

**A/N: Happy 4th of July!**

The nine-tails' attack left the village broken and scarred after its rampage. Many good shinobi died that night and even more were injured because of the demon. One of which being Kushina herself. Her death that night was possibly the leading factor in the fox being freed and the destruction that quickly followed afterward. The only reason anything was left of the village at was because of Minato and the actions that took place later on that evening. Minato was left with very few choices in a very limited amount of time after his wife's death. In the end, the Hokage had decided to seal the demon within his newborn son, Naruto, whom had just entered the world merely hours before the attack. The road for that boy would be rough. Many citizens were enraged by the fox and only saw it when they gazed at the infant. Ryunashi feared not even the baby's father could change the minds of those who had lost loved ones due to the fox's rampage and wondered, if only momentarily, if Minato might feel a little resentful considering the reason for his wife's death was inside his newborn son.

But Ryunashi had more important things to worry about considering the fox was being controlled by a Sharingan. He had to instigate an enormous investigation of the Uchiha clan to find out who the culprit could be. But the oddest thing happened as he gathered results, there are many Uchiha who possess the Sharingan, but few operate it to such an extent that they could control a tailed beast like that. And out of the few that could all of which were _fighting_ it. The Tadashi's investigation hit a brick wall and that wasn't good, especially since others saw the fox's eyes and word was spreading about it. Ryunashi would try and tell a few of the shinobi that were raising questions about what he had found out, but all of them just dismissed it as a Tadashi defending an Uchiha. Assholes, how could people even believe something like this?!

He couldn't even turn to Minato for assistance because the grief stricken widower had a newborn son to take care of and had temporarily step down from his post as Hokage in order to be given some time to heal. The Third had stepped back up in his place, but in all honesty the was not the man he used to be. The Third was now a frail old man, afraid of any sort of conflict and wasn't helping these tensions any.

But the Tadashi didn't have too long to consider all of these factors because on December 21st, the night of the winter solstice, the newest member of his family was born.

"What should we call her?" Izumi cradled her new daughter in her arms, already trying to flatten the brown hair that covered the infant's head. She was born with a head full of hair and Ryunashi could already tell that she was going to have the same hair problems as almost every other Tadashi.

"I don't know." That earned him a scolding look from his wife. "What?! Just go with anything. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Papa, you're going to get into trouble." Kitsune wiggled her finger as she sat by her mother on the hospital bed.

"He already is, Sweety." Izumi scowled. Well dammit! She shouldn't have asked him! She knew fully fucking well he wasn't good with this kind of shit!

"Can I name her?" Kitsune batted her eyes and looked just like her mother in doing so.

"Well, what do you have in mind?" Izumi looked cautiously at her oldest. Little genius of not, she was still five years old and who knows what might pop in her head.

"I like the name Kikyo."

Izumi blinked several times and then gazed down at her new daughter, deciding if the name would fit. "That's a very pretty name. Kikyo," she thought about it. "Like the flower."

"Actually, Kikyo was the name of an ancestor of the clan. She assisted with the founding of the village alongside the First Hokage, Uchiha Madara, and Hyuga Hanako. She was also the last known member of the clan that all four of the sacred swords chose as their owner at the same time."

"That's a very well-thought out choice Kitsune." Ryunashi nodded.

"… Can't we just say because it's the name of a pretty flower?" Izumi had a sweat drop.

"That can work too Mama." Kitsune crawled closer and smiled. "Do you like that name? Kikyo?"

The newborn gazed at her older sister with her blue eyes. "Kikyo?" Her mother echoed. "It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Tadashi Kikyo." She smiled down and allowed the infant to wrap her tiny hand around her finger. "What a sweet little bellflower. Don't you think Kitsune?"

"Mmhmm!" She nodded her head.

~6 months later~

It was exactly six months after Kikyo's birth that Bakuryuu and Inoue had their own child, a little baby girl named 'Hotaru'. The family of four got ready and made the journey to Konoha Hospital as soon as Bakuryuu had given them a call saying that Inoue was up and able to have visitors.

In the time since her birth Kikyo hadn't really grown all that much, she was pretty petite for her age and this worried her father a bit. But it didn't bother her mother at all, as long as she was healthy Izumi couldn't care less how big she was. Their baby had a head full of dark brown hair and searching blue eyes that seemed to have the sole purpose of finding things she could get into. when they entered the room her little chubby baby cheeks were puffed out as she tried to decide just what would be her first victim. She was dressed in a cute little purple dress that her mother just loved on her but somehow the infant had already tried three different ways to ruin only to have her mother and sister thwart her attempts.

Speaking of her sister, the five year old girl, Kitsune, stood next to her mother. Her hair was long and dark and straight just like Izumi's, and she'd actually _let_ her mother put a bow in _her_ hair. Unlike her little sister who had downright _refused_ as if it were torture. She was dressed in a pretty yellow yukata and a pair of sandals, and wore a great big smile on her face. Very excited to meet her cousin.

"Inoue-oba, Bakuryuu-oji," she greeted politely.

"Uu-ji! Ay-ba!" Kikyo tried to mimic. Ready for her Oji to pick her up and start playing with her like he always did.

"How did everything go?" Izumi asked, walking over toward the new parents.

"Really good!" Bakuryuu exclaimed happily. "Kitsune! Kikyo! You wanna meet your new cousin?" His grin was ridiculously wide as he bounced the little bundle that was leaned against his shoulder, a blanket covering their view of it. He jostled the little thing, eliciting a quiet whine sort of sound before his daughter made a humming-sigh sort of sound. The bundle fidgeted, getting comfortable again. "This is Hotaru!"

Kikyo's brow furrowed as she studied the newborn, curious as to what a 'cousin' was and why she now had a 'new' one. Kitsune cooed at the blanket and its contents, but that didn't make sense to the six month old. She frowned deeply. "Tay-oh," she announced, proud she'd identified what it was.

Bakuryuu laughed while Izumi looked shocked, and Kitsune giggled. "No, Kikyo. Her name is _Hotaru_. Ho-ta-ru. Come on, you can say it."

She frowned at the man. "Why tay-oh bay-key?"

" _Hotaru_ is in a blanket because she'll get cold if she's not," Bakuryuu explained patiently. He still hadn't grasped the conclusion Kikyo had come to.

"Tay-oh no nee," she announced. "Tay-oh eat." The girl pointed. "Bad tay-oh. Geen." Now Ryunashi's hand was brought up to his mouth as he choked out a cough that hid the bit of a laugh the comment had elicited.

Bakuryuu blinked. Twice. Then he gasped. "Hotaru is not a potato!" he exclaimed, cradling the infant closer. "Hotaru is a baby, Kikyo! And she's not bad! She's a good baby."

"No baby," she told him, shaking her head as she pointed at her cousin. Then she pointed at herself. "I baby."

"Yes, you are," Bakuryuu reasoned. "But Hotaru is a baby too. _Not_ a potato."

Kikyo shook her head. "Dumb-ji," she called him. "Tay-oh." She pointed at the newborn then she pointed at herself "Baby." Then she repeated the process and looked proud of herself.

"No! No tay-oh! Baby!" Oji had began to argue back in baby talk. "Ho-wu baby! Ho-wu good baby!"

Kikyo shook her head. "Doo-peed Ji. _I_ baby. Da' geen tay-oh. Geen tay-oh no nee bay-key."

"Ho-wu need bay-key cause Ho-wu baby an' Ho-wu wiw get cowd!" he agrued back to the infant.

Inoue blinked. "Bakuryuu, I don't know which is worse. You arguing with a six month old _in baby talk_ or the fact you're calling my daughter 'Ho-wu'."

"I'm making a point so she can understand it! And I figured because of limited vocabulary that's what would end up coming out of her mouth." The white haired man thought about it.

"Kikyo, say 'Hotaru'," her father demanded.

The baby scrunched her nose and thought about the word before giving it her best shot. "Ho-wa-wu?" She looked up to her parents for approval.

"At least she knows how many syllables to use." Inoue-oba raised her eyebrows at Oji who gave her an awkward shrug.

"See Sweety." Her mother bent down to her daughter. "This here is Hotaru."

She blinked at the little wrinkly thing, not sure why they would name a vegetable. "Ho-wa-wu tay-oh." Yup, she was going to convince Oji and maybe make him smarter so next time he wouldn't name a potato and put it in a blankey.

"Well, at least she's acknowledged that she has a name now," Ryunashi said.

"No, Kikyo," the girl looked surprised when her mother spoke up this time. "Hotaru _is_ a baby. Babies just look like that when they're first born. You did too."

The infant gasped then shook her head rapidly. "I no tay-oh!"

"Okay, I think Hotaru's been insulted enough," Inoue announced. "Give me my baby, Bakuryuu." Kikyo looked over at her aunt and started to reach toward her, apparently expecting that the woman wanted her. Instead, she took the little bundle Bakuryuu had had in his arms and cradled it in her arms. She tickled the newborn's stomach, making the infant giggle.

"Oh~!" Izumi exclaimed, going over to get a look at the baby now that it was actually playing. Bakuryuu had already crowded over and taken a seat next to his wife, watching the infant blow bubbles as if it were the most incredible thing he'd ever witnessed.

Kikyo was very confused. Potatoes didn't giggle or blow bubbles. And how come Inoue-oba was treating it like that? She wasn't stupid like Oji, she knew what a potato was and that it didn't go in a blankey, right?

"Oh~ she's just too precious~!" Izumi cooed at it.

Seriously, why wasn't _anyone_ telling them that potatoes don't go in blankets?

"Da!" Kikyo exclaimed. She pointed at Hotaru. "Tay-oh no bay-key. 'Es?" She nodded her head like she was sure she was right.

"No, potatoes don't go in blankets," Ryunashi agreed.

"See ji!" she exclaimed proudly at her uncle.

" _But_ Hotaru isn't a potato, Kikyo."

The six month old huffed. "Bad Da!"

Was there no one else here that was smart enough to see it? Did they all need new eyes or something? Kikyo pouted out her lower lip, trying to figure out just what was going on here. When did Papa get stupid like Oji? When did Inoue-oba? When did Mama?

She gasped. Oji was _contagious_!

"Bad ji!" she exclaimed suddenly at her uncle. She waved her hand to shoo him. "Way!" She pointed at the door.

"Aw~ are you jealous of Hotaru?"

"Cat… cas… ces…" She scrunched up her nose, unhappy that her tongue refused to cooperate.

"Catch?" Kitsune asked.

The baby nodded her head. "'Es, dat ji! Bad!"

"I don't…" Bakuryuu looked lost.

Inoue giggled. "I think she thinks we've all 'caught oji'."

"'Es!"

See! It wasn't too late for Inoue-oba! And she was around him most so it couldn't be too late for Mama and Papa either! "Way ji!" she commanded, pointing at the door.

Bakuryuu slumped, dark cloud forming over his head. The newborn giggled and lifted her hand like she was trying to get him. The dark cloud abruptly vanished and the man practically melted into affectionate goo. It was weird.

Then 'Hotaru' looked at her 'cousin' and smiled. "Aw, she likes you," Izumi declared as she lifted her baby closer so she could see the giggling potato.

"No idea why," Ryunashi muttered. "Must take after Bakuryuu."

Izumi gave him a scathing look.

"What? All she's done is call her a potato! How could the kid like her?"

Izumi huffed and turned her head away causing her husband to sigh. Great, now he was in trouble. All he'd done is tell the truth!

While the husband and wife were occupied with their little disagreement about whether Hotaru should approve of her cousin or not, the newborn reached out toward Kikyo just like she had her father. The six month old shouted and swung her arm again, slapping the baby's wrist hard. "No! Bad!"

Hotaru began to scream bloody murder. "Kikyo!"

"See star!" she accused.

"Hotaru is younger than you! You can't just hit her like that, no matter what she did! She doesn't know any better! Besides, she didn't even do anything wrong."

Kikyo disagreed, very much so. She tried to argue her point only to have it rejected. So she did the only thing a six month old knows to do when it doesn't get its way. She began to scream too.

It would be months before Kikyo accepted that Hotaru was not a potato, even when she started to look more like a little person. Needless to say, this wasn't the last argument Kikyo and Bakuryuu would have on the subject.

~1 year later~

"Tadashi Kikyo!" Izumi exclaimed in frustration at her toddler. She had _just_ been able to finish fixing her hair and had even been able to pull it up in a cute little ponytail in a pretty ribbon on top of her head when the toddler placed both her little hands atop her head and very aggressively yanked out the ribbon and ruffled her hair to where it stuck out in all directions.

"I don't think she likes it Izumi-san." Itachi chuckled from farther down the porch with Sasuke in his lap.

Kitsune strode over and patted down her little sister's hair. "Kikyo, don't you want your hair to look all pretty?" She gave Kikyo a smile.

"No! I don wanna!" She crossed her arms stubbornly and puffed out her cheeks.

"Come on Kikyo." Kitsune batter her lashes. The young girl got off easy when it came to her looks. The girl was an almost spitting image of her mother with pretty, straight brown hair and blue eyes even though they were a dark blue like her father's she resembled her mother greatly and didn't have to worry about her hair sticking up in all directions like many clan members did.

"No!" She ruffled her hands again through her hair stubbornly and her big sister couldn't hold in her giggles. "It huwt, Nee!"

"Kikyo!" Izumi spatted the baby's hand.

Her lip trembled for a second before turning it into a scowl. "I don wanna Mama!" She wrapped her arms over her head protectively.

"Tadashi Kikyo, you will put your arms down this instant and let Mama fix your hair young lady!" Izumi pulled her little arms off of her head, her hair- thanks to her earlier attempt- now stuck up in all directions.

"Mama, it is now clear, Kikyo has inherited the _other_ curse of the Tadashi clan. Eternal bedhead." Kitsune smiled as she waved a toy in front of her baby sister in order to distract her so _maybe_ their mother can finish what she had started and failed to finish.

~Friends~

Kikyo crinkled her nose at the other three four year olds in her yard. There was Uchiha Sasuke who was Itachi-san's little brother, Namikaze Naruto whose papa was Hokage, and her cousin Hotaru who was living with Kikyo and her family for a little while because there was a _big_ fire at Hotaru's house. Just because all their mamas' were friends didn't mean Kikyo wanted them as her friends.

The younger Tadashi examined the little blonde boy in a bored sort of interest when he began looking around as if trying to check whether he was being watched. Then he grinned this mischievous kind of grin and started to try to tip toe away.

He tip-toed right into Hotaru then fell back on his butt like an idiot. The green haired Tadashi had a serious and disapproving look on her face and stood with her arms crossed, scowling at the boy. "Don't even think about it, Naruto!"

"Oh come on, Hotaru! You know this blows! Your cousin's mean and Sasuke's a stupid jerk!"

"That doesn't make running away to paint the monument a good idea! I've _told_ you, Naruto, you can't just _do_ something like that! You'll get caught!"

"I bet _I_ can do it without getting caught," Kikyo announced proudly.

"No you can't, Kikyo!"

"I bet I can!"

"You don't even know what you're agreeing to!" Hotaru whined.

"If Kikyo can do it then so can I!" Sasuke announced.

"No you can't! None of you can!"

"Is that a challenge?!"

"No! It's a statement!"

"See, Hotaru, they think we can do it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"They don't even know what we're talking about!"

"I don't care," Kikyo answered. "I can still do it. Without getting caught."

Hotaru gave her a doubtful look. "Kikyo, you don—"

"Oh blah blah. Quit being a damned wet blanket, Hotaru! You're no fun!"

"Is that so?" the girl asked, her brow twitching a bit. Then her face calmed and she smiled a sneaky sort of smile that made Kikyo a little anxious. "Fine, let's make a bet of it."

"Name your terms."

"You paint the monument without _any of you_ getting caught and I'll… give you my dessert for a week. But if any of get caught, any single one, then I get _your_ desserts for a week. That goes for all of you."

"Fine," Sasuke agreed.

"You got a deal! Dattebayo!" Naruto agreed.

"Make it a month!" Kikyo exclaimed. "Now what monument are we painting?" She smirked, so completely confident in her abilities.

Hotaru's face split into an enormous grin and she turned slightly and pointed.

At the village.

"You think you can just point north and I'll know?" She glanced at Sasuke who was gawking in the direction she was pointing, looking newly doubtful and a little pale. "What?"

"The _Hokage_ Monument, Kikyo."

She blinked once. Twice. "Oh hell no!"

Naruto's eyes grew huge and he gasped, putting a hand over his mouth and pointing at Kikyo. "She said a bad word~!"

"It is not!" she argued back. "Papa uses it all the time!" She crossed her arms, sure her argument was solid.

"That means nothing. It's still bad." Hotaru put her little hands on her hips.

"Like it matters. How could you agree to a bet without even realizing what you were doing?" Sasuke asked as though he were superior.

"You did the exact same thing idiot!" Kikyo's eyebrow twitched.

"I didn't!" Naruto announced smugly.

"You shouldn't be proud of that," the pair informed him in a deadpan.

"And none of you are getting out of it." Hotaru smiled possibly already calculating her next month of desserts.

"No, we're doing this." Kikyo cracked her knuckles and dragged the boys by the scruffs of their necks, dead set on showing up her cousin…

They were caught after barely finishing the first head. Kikyo felt it was Naruto's fault, but he swore it was Sasuke's. And Sasuke, the little jerk, was dead set on blaming Kikyo.

But it was totally Naruto's fault! Loud little brat! He was yelling _Dattebayo_ the entire time and that's why they were caught so soon!

She was going to _kill_ him! Mama even made _kuzumochi_ that night. Kuzumochi! She hoped Hotaru got fat from all their sweets.

~More Hotarus~

"I have news," Hotaru slumped her shoulders and told her friends in a depressed voice.

"What?" Kikyo cocked her head as she held Naruto in a head lock. That should teach him not to yell in her ear.

"I give! I give!" He attempted to tap out and receive mercy only for Kikyo to drop him like a sack of potatoes to the ground. "Thank you!" he gasped from the dirt.

"Three minutes, new record," Sasuke grumbled as he checked the time.

"Will you all please stop for a second?" Hotaru looked severely distressed.

"What happened? Did Oji do something so stupid that Inoue-oba is gonna give him the boot?" Kikyo asked.

"No~" Her lip trembled. "Mommy and Daddy are going to get another baby~"

The other three froze. "Man, sucks to be you." Naruto said bluntly from his sitting position on the

"Naruto!" the other three exclaimed in unison.

"Is this really such a big deal?" Sasuke lifted an eyebrow.

"I don't think it should be," Kikyo agreed. "How bad could it be to have a younger brother or sister?"

"You two are totally biased!" both the only children exclaimed in rage at the other two.

"But it's true."

"Nee-san is very content with being a big sister."

"The same goes for Nii-san… except for him being a brother."

"I don't want a Kikyo or Sasuke~" Hotaru's lip trembled as she squatted to the ground and pulled her face into her knees.

"Poor Hotaru." Naruto patted her shoulder sympathetically.

"Oi!" Kikyo's eyebrow twitched as she slapped her cousin upside the head. "Can I just say something in the future kid's defense?" She gave her teary eyed cousin a scolding look. "It's not so bad having a big sister around to show you the ropes. Nee-san is the smartest, strongest, and best person in the world and though you're in no way, shape or form, Nee-san that kid's going to look up to you." She crossed her arms.

Hotaru seemed to take the speech into consideration and stood back up, wiping her face on her sleeve. "You really think so?"

"Mmhmm… and if they don't we could just find a way to get rid of it." She grinned and the other three face faulted.

"And there's the Kikyo we all know and aren't very fond of." Naruto cringed.

Well, leave it to Oji to mess up getting a baby. On December 15th Hotaru not only got a little brother, whom they called Kenshin because of Papa and Oji's dead Papa, but a sister too! They named that one Suzume. Hotaru was not pleased whenever Oji held them. Kikyo's offer about throwing one of them away still stood. Or hey, both of them!

~Candy shop~

"I'm hungry~" Hotaru whined on their way back from the park, her large fluffy dog, Hanji, trailed after her. Apparently Oji thought getting her a dog after Suzume born would make her less mad at him. He was wrong, but Hotaru got attached to the dog and it followed her everywhere now.

"You're always hungry." Sasuke dug in his ear and tried to ignore her. Well it wasn't a lie. The stupid little pig had some kind of psycho metabolism it turns out and she can eat as much as a grown up and she didn't even look like an Akimichi as a side effect!

"I'm hungry too!" Naruto proclaimed loudly as though he needed to inform the entire street.

"Couldn't the same be said for you too?" Kikyo quirked an eyebrow.

"Nu-uh! Hotaru eats more than me!"

"Hotaru eats more than everyone."

"Hey! I can't help it. Can I Hanji?" she asked the fluffy brown and white St. Bernard.

"Arf!"

"Hanji agrees." She nodded.

"Hanji only agrees because you feed him." Sasuke pointed out.

"Nu-uh!"

"Whatever." Kikyo waved her cousin off and spied a sweets shop. "How about a treat before lunch? I got some money Nee-san gave me for helping her organize raw materials earlier this week." The six year old proudly held out her earnings to show the other three.

"I don't really have much of a sweet tooth," Sasuke reminded them.

"Then you don't have to get anything." Kikyo scoffed.

"Yeah! Let's get some sweets!" Naruto cheered.

"Oooh, I hope they have some chocolate covered cherries!" Hotaru squealed.

"Oh! I want some too!"

"I personally want a caramel apple." Kikyo counted her pocket money. She should have enough and as long as they paid her back – Hotaru was always fine to do so on her own, Itachi-san would make Sasuke, and Naruto always paid back in labor and sparing matches – she was fine lending them a bit. But when the four reached the entrance of candy shop the store owner stood in the doorway, blocking their path. "Excuse you." Kikyo raised an eyebrow at the nervous looking old man.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but _they_ can't come in." His eyes darted to Hotaru and Naruto. This infuriated Kikyo. How dare he look at them like that?! This would happen every now and again when the children were out on their own, but even when they were with adults Kikyo could see that some other people, especially grown-ups, would give both Naruto and Hotaru dirty looks as though they did something really inappropriate. Sure, Naruto was stupid and Hotaru could be a stick in the mud but that was no reason to be mean to them!

"Why not?" Kikyo crossed her arms as Hotaru and Naruto shied away like they always did when faced with the unfair grown-ups.

The shop owner began to sweat a little. "You are more than welcome to come in young lady, and the other boy, but I'm sorry. I can't allow people like _them_ ," His eyes darted to the green haired girl and the blonde. "In my shop… or the dog."

"You already said you wouldn't let Naruto in," Sasuke said.

"Hey!"

"Arf?"

"No Hanji, you shed. Now sit," He continued to stand with his tail wagging. "I said to sit." Still standing. "Oh whatever! Just stand there!" He sat. "Good boy."

Kikyo considered this for the quickest second before sighing and shrugging her shoulders. "Well, if those are the rules. Sorry Naruto, Hotaru. I guess you can't come in." Both their jaws hit the ground. "But don't worry, I'll go get Papa and bring him back so he can come in and get your treats for you." She beamed at them before turning back to the shop owner with a wide grin and a gleam in her eye. Very glad to see him quickly losing color. "Or maybe I should just go get Oji, I think he might be closer." She tapped her chin, thinking about it.

"N-n-n-no-no-no! That's not necessary! Not necessary at all! I was only kidding! Please! Don't take this old fool seriously! All of you are more than welcome inside and please, take as long as you need to decide on what you want!" The man was white and sweating profusely as he ushered them inside. Kikyo smirked, she knew threatening him with Papa and Oji would work, neither of them reacted well when people were mean to Hotaru and Naruto for no reason.

Kikyo held her head high as she waltzed into the shop and Naruto quickly followed cheering about his chocolate cherries.

Hotaru paused at the door and gave the shop keeper a sympathetic look. "I am very sorry." She bowed respectfully. "Daddy isn't even in the village at the moment… but thanks for letting us in!" She stood up and skipped inside.

"You got played~." Sasuke pointed at the man as he walked past him as well, making his jaw hit the ground.

~Tomoe~

Kikyo was walking with her big sister through the training field. She was a little beat up of course but felt that she made some serious progress in her kenjutsu that day. She always felt like that when Kitsune trained her. She looked up to the young teen and envied her. Kitsune's fair skin wasn't sweaty or blemished in the tiniest sense, her kenjutsu uniform was perfectly intact and wasn't dirty at all, and her shiny brown, straight hair was tied back in a perfect ponytail without even a single lock out of place. She didn't even break a sweat during the kenjutsu match!

Kikyo huffed and examined herself in comparison. Her clothes were twisted, covered in mud, and a little bloody, her face was drenched in sweat and dirt from being laid out on her ass so many times, and her messy brown ponytail was sticking out in all directions because she was running and rolling around for so long.

"Nee-san, how did you get so good at kenjutsu?" Kikyo asked.

"Hm?" The older Tadashi looked down at her and gave her a kind smile. "Well, I practiced every day of course and I had a good teacher."

"Didn't Papa teach you? Or Oji?" She cocked her head.

Kitsune laughed. "Yes, of course they did, but someone very special also helped me out and looked after me when they were too busy. I have her to thank with a lot of my early progress."

"So, she looked after you and took care of you and taught you kenjutsu?"

"Yes, I looked up to her, I still do in fact." There was nostalgia in her eyes.

"So you had a big sister too!?" Kikyo exclaimed.

Kitsune paused and thought about it before giggling a little. "I suppose I did."

"I wanna meet her!" Kikyo's eyes sparkled a little. Another Kitsune?! She couldn't wait!

"Okay." Kitsune smiled. "We can stop by her home and see if she's there. I haven't visited Tomoe-san in a while anyway." She took Kikyo by the hand and led the little girl to a small house near a wooded area.

"I thought she said she was a sister Nee-san?" Kikyo cocked her head. "Why isn't she in the compound?"

Kitsune chuckled. "Tomoe-san isn't really my sister Kikyo. I just looked up to her like one. And she doesn't live on the compound because she had an argument with her parents a long time ago and moved into a house away from it."

"Oh." Kikyo looked up at the door as Kitsune knocked on it.

Suddenly there was an angry shriek that made the six year old jump. "IF THIS ISN'T IMPORTANT THEN YOU BETTER NOT DAMN WELL BE THERE WHEN I GET TO THAT DOOR!" a very angry voice roared from somewhere in the house.

"… I think I changed my mind Nee-san."

"But she's in such a good mood today." Kitsune smiled.

…

…

Kikyo wasn't sure how to respond to that, but on the bright side she didn't have to because the door pulled open. In the entry way was a pretty looking woman that looked to be in her early twenties- but that's not too surprising seeing as the lady was Tadashi- with black spiky hair with the ends colored in a bright red to contrast the black and was styled in a short pixie cut that made the spikes in her hair look like they were styled that way. Her eyebrow was twitching as she swung the door open and glared for a second before her expression softened just a _teeny tiny_ bit.

"Tomoe-san," Kitsune gave the grumpy lady a kind smile.

The grouch's gaze went from Kitsune then shot down to Kikyo then back to her sister before lifting an eyebrow. "Kitsune, why did you bring a runt to my house?"

Kikyo was beginning to wonder the same. This nasty lady wasn't anything like Nee-san.

"Tomoe-san, this is my little sister Kikyo. She had been curious as to whom had taught me kenjutsu growing up so I thought we could stop by and say hello. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important," she said with a concerned expression.

"Eh, just settling a bet." She shrugged.

"Oh? So you have company?"

"No, why would I have company?"

"Well, you said you were settling a bet."

"I don't need company to settle a fucking bet." She crossed her arms. Man, and Naruto, Hotaru, and Sasuke thought _Kikyo_ was mean. "I'm actually just waiting on it to cool so I have a minute." She leaned against the door frame.

"Cool?" Kikyo looked up. "Are you cooking something?"

"No Runt, I'm making a sword," she scoffed.

"I'm not a runt you nasty bitch!" Kikyo shook her fist, using Papa's term for mean ladies.

"Kikyo!" Kitsune planted her fist on her sister's skull. "What have I told you about that kind of language?! And what's going through your head?! Disrespecting Tomoe-san like that!"

"Tch, disrespecting? Might as well be my name." She shrugged.

Kikyo scrunched her nose. "She's nothing at all like you said Nee-san."

"Oh? You been talking about me?" Tomoe lifted an eyebrow at Kitsune.

"Kikyo was curious as to how I learned much of my rudimentary kenjutsu and I told her you were the one who taught me." She continued to smile, completely used to the rude lady.

"Oh really?" Tomoe looked back down at the six year old. "Let's see how good of a teacher you are Kitsune." A malicious smirk came over the older woman.

"W-what?" Kitsune paled a little. "Tomoe-san, I'd rather not have my little sister be killed anytime soon."

"You're on!"

"Kikyo!"

"Heh, nice guts." Tomoe cracked her knuckles.

"Like this old shrew could do anything." Kikyo crossed her arms and smirked.

"Oh, you'll see Runt."

"The name's Kikyo, Bitch!" She liked Papa's term better.

"Kikyo!"

"Eh, I don't know if you're worth a name yet brat." Tomoe ushered them through her little house, grabbing a bokken and a real katana.

"You're getting a bokken? What? Afraid to fight me with a _real_ sword?"

"Oh no sweety, the bokken is for me and the katana here is for you." She tossed the heavy sword at the six year old. "That way you _might_ stand a chance without dying." Kikyo was getting more and more tick marks on her head as the seconds passed.

"Tomoe-san, why do you even have a bokken? If you don't mind my asking."

"It comes in handy when smacking unruly guests upside the head." She swung and smacked Kikyo.

"Ow! Shit!"

"Kikyo!"

"You see?" She smirked.

"Oh dear." Kitsune messaged her temples, clearly regretting her decision to visit Tomoe.

The three entered a decently sized back yard and the bitch stood on the other side of the clearing. "Okay! You get first move Runt!" she shouted to Kikyo.

"Why? Afraid to attack?"

"No, this way I can plead self-defense if I accidentally kill you."

Kikyo's eyebrow was twitching once again as she unsheathed the katana. She hadn't gotten to work with a real blade but a few times and only then it was with either Papa or Kitsune because Oji always lost and got hit between the legs…

Hey! Don't judge her! He never guarded there and she was taught to take advantage of openings!

The girl pulled the sword out into position and charged, changing direction and trajectory at the last second and coming from above. This apparently didn't fool Tomoe though because her sword moved almost too fast for Kikyo to see and _was able to block it_! How the hell could she even do that?! Kikyo's blade was down and aimed straight at her and all she had was a wooden bokken!

With a flick of her wrist the force of Tomoe's swing tossed Kikyo several feet away and sent her rolling on the ground. But she wouldn't let that stop her! The girl jumped back up to her feet and swung her sword at the bitchy grown-up only to have her catch the sword and redirect the blade into the ground.

"Bitch!" Kikyo ducked Tomoe's swing from her bokken and tried to pull her sword only for the wooden sword to come back around, sending Kikyo flying and landing on her back. Before Kikyo could find her feet this time she felt the pressure of a foot on her chest. She looked up to find Tomoe standing over her with the _real_ sword pointed at Kikyo's throat. Somehow she had been able to pull it out one handed because the bokken was still in her other hand.

"Look at that, you _aren't_ worth a name yet."

Kikyo was fuming.

"Tomoe-san, I would appreciate it if you pulled your sword away from my sister." Kitsune gave the other Tadashi a scolding look.

"Don't get your fucking ponytail in a twist. The fucking kid just needed to be knocked down a few levels, that's all." She smirked and twirled her katana. "Not bad for a little runt, but she's gotta watch her back better. I had, like, three or four chances _at least_ to take her down from behind. Her movements are too wide and open, she needs to learn to stay in a smaller field of motion while carrying out techniques."

"I know, we've been working on that." Kitsune smiled at her sister and played with her hair, possibly attempting to clean it up before they got home.

"All in all though, not bad considering what you have to work with." Tomoe smirked a bitchy smirk at Kikyo. "With a damned little runt like that I'm surprised she can even pick up a sword."

"I'll tear you to shreds!" Kikyo tried to wriggle free but her sister held her back.

"Have fun with that, Runt! Meh!" Tomoe pulled her lower lip down and stuck out her tongue.

"Tomoe-san, Kikyo's the six year old here." Kitsune reminded her.

"Blah, blah, blah." She moved her hand as though it were a mouth. "Now, how about a _real_ match?" She eyed Kitsune.

"Tomoe-san, I—"

"No way! I want a rematch!"

"Shush child, the grown-ups are talking now." She held her hand up to hush the child. "What do you say?"

"I suppose it could be fun." Kitsune unrolled a scroll on her back and unsealed it to reveal two nodachis. The larger one was white and had shiny little diamonds embedded in the handle with a feather design within it leading down to the silver guard and the sheath was covered in silver silk-like material, the other was just a bit shorter with a shiny blood red sheath and the handle was pitch black with a vine design wrapping around down it to the golden guard. Kikyo forgot her anger and grinned at the two swords. Tengokusaya and Kyuketsukitou. _Two_ of the clan's four swords had chosen Kitsune when she had her Ken no Keisho when she was eight. "Here you are Tomoe-san." She held out Kyuketsukitou which Tomoe took without hesitation.

"There you are you traitorous bastard!" she growled but held the sword tenderly.

"Hey! How is that even possible?!" Kikyo pointed accusingly.

"Please, who the fuck do you think your sister inherited in from?" Tomoe scoffed.

"Wait, _you_ had the sword before Nee-san?!"

"Yup, had this puppy for years." She unsheathed it to reveal the scarlet blade.

"How long?" Kikyo cocked her head.

"Since I was six." She stood with the blade and Nee-san unsealed another sword she had forged.

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Kikyo was six and she was still years away from her Ken no Keisho! "That's even sooner than yours Nee-san!"

"I know, Sweety." Kitsune chuckled.

"We gonna sit here and pussy foot all day or are we going to spar?" Tomoe tapped her foot impatiently.

Pussy foot? Kikyo would have to use that.

Kitsune apparently could read minds. "Tomoe-san, great, now Kikyo's going to use that now."

"I am so glad I can educate young minds."

"Okasan won't be," Kitsune mumbled as Tomoe lunged with the scarlet blade only for the young brunette to block it with her own sword and it began.

Kikyo tried to watch, she really did. But there were points to where Tomoe and Kitsune looked all blurry and she couldn't even make out their movements or distinguish which techniques they were throwing at each other. But every now and again Kikyo would catch a glimpse of lightning that must have been from her sister or a wave of flames that might have come from Tomoe's side.

If that experience taught Kikyo anything, it would be that she was going to have to work harder to get up to their level.


	3. Jinchuriki

It was just another normal evening for Kikyo and Hotaru. Sasuke went on a hunting trip with Itachi-san and Naruto was grounded for playing a prank on the Third Hokage so it was just the two Tadashi girls that day.

At first they decided to train… but Mama got mad because first: they broke about five bokken. And second: they tracked dirt into the house… that's always a bad idea.

So, instead of nearly being killed the girls decided to test their agility and evasion tactics against one another… A. K. A., they were playing tag.

"You're it! Ha!" Kikyo proclaimed triumphantly and took off before the green haired girl could tag back.

"Kikyo! Hey! That wasn't fair!" Hotaru shouted after her, chasing. Kikyo would glance back every now and again, glad she was able to keep a steady speed and keep up with the other girl or rather in this case keep _away_. She glanced back again, but noticed that Hotaru had slowed her pace and began looking around at the trees. "Hey Kikyo, where are we?" she asked.

The kunoichi-to-be just smirked. "That trick doesn't work on me, Hotaru!" Like she could be fooled so easily.

"No, I'm serious! Where are we?" She stopped running altogether and looked around, perplexed.

Kikyo stopped too, but kept her distance. She looked around before frowning herself. "I don't know. I guess we wandered a little too far."

 _If my internal compass is right we should be near the wall, possibly not too far from the Uchiha compound, but that's just a guess-stimation._

"We should head back," Hotaru told her, feeling anxious.

"Aw, don't be such a crybaby," she scoffed, tired of Hotaru being a wet blanket. "Let's explore!" Kikyo gave her a small grin and started off deeper into the forest.

"Kikyo! I really think we should head back!" Hotaru sounded nervous.

"Oh don't be such a worry-wart!" She waved the other girl off.

"You always say that!"

"But you're still always a kill-joy."

"Kikyo~!"

"Hotaru~!" she mocked right back at the cry baby.

Hotaru froze suddenly. "Kikyo. I think we should go now." she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

The brunette just rolled her eyes. If Hotaru was going to be like this then she could just go back home and Kikyo would continue on her own. "You can if you want to, but I'm not."

"Kikyo, seriously," Hotaru hissed, grabbing her arm. Kikyo's eyebrow twitched, but she let it slide considering Hotaru really did look scared. "There are people here. People I don't recognize."

Was that all? "There are probably a bunch of people you don't recognize in the village, Hotaru. Stop freaking over nothing."

"Kikyo, I have a bad feeling."

"You _always_ have a bad feeling." She was going to go on, but the anxiety in the other girl's face caused her to sigh. "If you really don't want to run into them, we can just go another way." Stupid lame scaredy cat cousins and their stupid scaredy catness. But the more they walked, the more curious Kikyo got of whomever was making Hotaru so jumpy. Just a quick look at who they were and the girls would be on their way. Kikyo diverged from the little route Hotaru was making for them and headed in the direction she _didn't_ want to go. Hotaru made a very exasperated face before following the adventurous brunette who was finally close enough to see the people for herself. There were two of them. They were big and looked strong, but soon Kikyo's attention went to their foreheads. The symbol the men were wearing was not the swirly leaf symbol, but four small swiggles instead.

Kikyo furrowed her brow. That symbol, it _had_ to be the one for the Village Hidden in the Mist. But why were they _here_ of all places? Foreign shinobi on Konoha soil, and so close to the compounds too. They were so dead if they didn't have a good reason.

"What are you doing?" she hissed as Kikyo approached the men.

"Ninja from other villages aren't supposed to be here," the brunette announced. "I'm gonna ask why they are."

"Kikyo, I don't think that's a good idea. We should go back and get Daddy or Ryu-oji or—"

"Hey you!" she shouted at the men with a sneer on her face.

"Or not," Hotaru muttered.

Both of the ninja turned to them at Kikyo's shout. Their eyes went from the brunette to the green haired girl behind her. They both then darted their eyes back between Hotaru and a piece of paper in their hands several times. Something made Kikyo's stomach drop, but she kept her composure. Papa said that appearance was everything when it came to intimidating those bigger than you. "What do you think you're doing here?" Kikyo demanded, hands on her hips. "You're in Konoha territory, foreign ninja aren't supposed to be here."

One of the men smirked. "I'll tell you what we're doing here. Or better yet, _show_ you." And he was there, faster than her eyes could follow and his foot made contact with the square of her chest and the girl felt herself fly and her back slammed against a tree hard enough that the breath was knocked out of her. She let out a gasp as she watched as the other jerk scooped Hotaru under his arm his arm like she was a ball or something and smirked.

Then Hotaru did something that Kikyo never expected her to. She took a page from Kikyo's book and pulled her bokken out, both girls carried them at all times now that they were older, swinging it with all her might in between the grown man's legs. She was so proud. The brunette would have laughed if only she could just catch her damn breath!

The jerk face howled in pain and dropped her cousin on the ground. "Shit!" the other exclaimed and turned back to get Hotaru only for the bokken to break over his skull.

Shit.

"Ow! Damn it!" Hotaru used the opportunity to try and run in Kikyo's direction but the asshole had recovered enough to grab the girl by the ponytail.

"Kyaah!" Hotaru screamed in pain and it felt like a switch had been turned on. Kikyo snarled and lunged, swinging her bokken and making contact with the shinobi's eye. Good, she friggin hoped it blinded him! She didn't care if the sword was wooded or even if it was made of plastic, she would cut his arm off for doing that! She didn't have to though because the blow to the eye was enough for him to let go of the other girl.

The crotch shot guy recovered and boy was he _pissed_. "You damned little brats!" he snarled. Kikyo took a swing at him, but he caught her bokken and jerked it away before breaking it over his leg.

 _Well… fuck._

Kikyo pulled Hotaru back, as far as she could from the men. They had nearly knocked Kikyo into next week yet all they did to Hotaru was pick her up and to Kikyo that made their motives oh so clear. These douchebags were after Hotaru.

"Hotaru, go get help," Kikyo ordered.

"Not so fast." The pissed crotch shot guy grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up to eye level. Kikyo clawed and bit at his palm but he wouldn't loosen his grip. "The Jinchuriki is going with us." Kikyo didn't have time to wonder what the hell a _Jinchuriki_ even was because his other hand came around so fast it was a blur, making contact with the girl's temple and he let go with his other, allowing her to fly down to the ground and land hard on her side and roll.

It hurt.

A lot.

Kikyo bit the inside of her cheek and ignored the feel of warm liquid coming down the side of her head.

"KIKYO!" Hotaru screeched and the other picked her up even through all her kicking, punching and screaming.

"These damned fucking brats!" the other exclaimed as his used his strength to forcibly hold down Hotaru's arms to tie them in the pack.

"Stop it! That hurts!" Angry tears leaked from her eyes.

"If you weren't such a fussy little demon we wouldn't have to." Crotch shot guy scolded.

That was when Kikyo stood again. Her vision was brimmed in red and she spat the blood from her mouth. "Let. Her. Go." Her fists tightened.

"No! Kikyo run!" Hotaru's voice was scared and pleading which just made Kikyo angrier at those bastards for scaring her stupid cousin like that. "Go get Daddy! Or Ryu-oji! Please just run!"

Crotch shot guy chuckled. "Ringo, hold the Jinchuriki." He pulled out brass knuckles and slipped them on his hands. There was that word again. What did it mean?

"Don't you think we should take her with us as well?" The other guy asked as he held Hotaru.

"Nah, the Jinchuriki was our only target. What would they say if we just bring some snot nosed brat with us? It's quicker to just kill the extra."

"No, stop it!" Hotaru started to cry.

Kikyo cracked her knuckles. "You're not going anywhere with my stupid cousin."

"And you're going to stop us?" Crotch shot guy had an evil look in his eye.

"Even if I don't the others will because you know why?" The man was fast, almost as fast as Kitsune when she sparred. Kikyo ducked under and came in close. Always use your size to your advantage. Her knee came up in between his legs again and as his head bent a little in pain hers came up and made contact with his chin. She then swung her foot around and leg checked his knee just like how Itachi-san showed her to do. The man flipped backwards to gain some distance, holding his sore area and his red jaw clenched. "Because you don't mess with the Tadashi clan unless you want to end up dead." Kikyo shifted her weight into a back stance, great for getting in close and hopping around a larger opponent. He lunged again, but before Kikyo could reach him his foot reached her and swung into her arm and she could have sworn she heard a snapping sound in her upper arm. "Gah!" His brass knuckles came across her face and slammed hard into her jaw, causing a tooth to come out.

"Hurry up and end it already. Someone might be looking for the brats by now."

"Tch, you're no fun." He pulled a kunai and slashed over Kikyo's front. The girl watched as her own blood flew in all directions and her legs finally gave away. Kikyo felt herself fall to the ground and hit the grass.

"There, was that so hard?"

"But it was boring." The other sighed.

"Kikyo? Kikyo? Kikyo Kikyo Kikyo Kikyo!" Hotaru repeated over and over through hiccups and snotty tears. She wanted nothing more than to respond. She wanted to get back up, tell her stupid cousin to stop being such a cry baby and act like a Tadashi and to kick these jerks' asses! But she couldn't. She told her arms and legs to move, she told them to get back up and keep fighting, but on God it hurt. Everything hurt so much. Kikyo blinked back the painful tears, Papa told her that to cry when hurt was a sign of weakness and that real ninja don't. So she pulled them back the best she could, but it got much harder when all she could do was watch as the two men disappeared with Hotaru behind the trees. The girl choked it back even harder when she couldn't even see them anymore. Kikyo tried again to move, but it just kept getting harder and harder. She could feel the entire front of her clothes warm and wet and her eyelids getting heavier. She never meant to close them, it just happened. And when it did Kikyo couldn't remember anything of what happened next.

…

The next thing Kikyo knew she was lying in a warm bed and light was coming from the window. She took a deep breath but it hurt and she looked around the room. No one would have to tell her she was in a hospital, she could tell just by the chemical smells and the doodle carvings in the walls (recovering ninja get bored easy). After a struggle that was more painful than she'd like to admit, the girl was finally able to sit up. Her entire chest hurt and she could feel stitching and bandages all over her front, her right arm was in a cast and no doubt was broken, and there was bandaging going over and around her head, even covering up her left eye because one of the blows she took was so close to it.

"Kikyo, you're awake?" a voice asked suddenly and the girl's head snapped up to see her father there in the doorway.

"Papa." It all came crashing back down. "P-Papa, H-Hotaru! S-she… I…" The girl balled her hands into fists and choked herself back again.

She felt a strong hand on her head. "I know Kikyo. Hotaru's back home now, safe and sound. You were able to stall them long enough to draw attention. Hotaru was safely retrieved not even an hour later."

"Sh-she's safe?" The girl kept stumbling over her words in an attempt to calm herself back down.

"Kikyo," her father stated in a harsh, scolding tone. "What you did was irresponsible and not only put Hotaru in danger, but you were nearly killed in the process. Do _not_ _ever_ act so recklessly again, do you hear me?"

The brunette sniffed a few times and wiped her face on her sheets. "Yes Papa."

"When encountering suspicion the shinobi acts with haste and caution. Hesitation or carelessness leads to death."

"I know."

"No you don't!" His voice rose and she winced. "You nearly died today and your cousin was abducted! You do _not_ know!"

"Yes Papa." Kikyo bit her jaw to keep it from trembling.

"You're extremely lucky your uncle and I came when we did!"

"Yes Papa."

"Those were full grown jonin shinobi! Do you even realize?! Realize how fortunate you are to even be alive?!"

"Yes Papa."

"I don't—"

"Papa?"

"What?!" He was making one of his scary face that he made whenever he was angry.

"I want to carry a sword. A real sword." She looked up at him. "I want to get stronger so this doesn't happen again. Next time something like this happens I want to be able to fight."

He paused. "I'll think about it. We'll see how it goes once you're out of the hospital and how you behave afterwards."

"Yes sir."

"And if I were you I would wipe my face and get ahold of myself." She turned her head back up to him and felt something that had been brimming in her eye fall. She quickly wiped her face on her sheets again, hoping against hope he didn't see it. "Crying won't keep anyone safe Kikyo, it just hinders your vision and makes you susceptible to attack." He placed his hand on her head one more time before turning on his heel and almost slamming the door behind him.

…

"Mama I'm fine! Stop touching me!" Kikyo tried to push her mother away with her non-broken arm as the woman tried to adjust the bandages on her head.

"Kikyo, let me help you! Some of your stitches are showing!" The older brunette was halfway between anger and near tears.

"If they need adjusting then I can do it!" She pushed once more.

"Tadashi Kikyo!" her mother's voice was sharp. "You are seven years old and hurt and I am your mother! Let me take care of you!" Kikyo flinched, great, not one, but both her parents were mad at her now.

"Fine," she mumbled.

"Kikyo, you're my baby and I love you, but that stubbornness of yours is going to get you into a _load_ of trouble one day." Izumi petted down her hair and kissed her daughter's forehead.

"We're here~!" Oji exclaimed too happily as he suddenly swung the hospital door open with his foot. His arms were full of stuffed animals, flowers, candy, and balloons. The rest of his family gave him a bland look from out in the hallway and the other two stared at him from the hospital bed.

"We hewe!" Suzume exclaimed, mimicking her father from the top of his shoulders.

"Hush you two!" Inoue shushed. "We're in a hospital!"

"Hehehe!" Kenshin cackled as he held his mother's hand.

"They mean well," Hotaru said with a smile, but it slid right off her face when she saw her cousin. "Hi." Dammit Hotaru! How dare she look so damn guilty!? It wasn't even her fault!

"Haha! Kiko wook wike a mummy!" Suzume went into a fit of giggles as her father placed all the stuff on the bed before letting his toddler down.

"I wanna wook wike a mummy too!" Kenshin tugged his mother's sleeve.

"No."

"Bakuryuu." Izumi lifted an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Her eyes darted to all the stuff then back to him with an almost scolding expression. "What?! My niece is in the hospital and I can't get her a few get well gifts?!" He held his arms up in defense.

"No, I expected a few presents… just not a stuffed animal army."

"I hewped pick dem owt!" Kenshin proclaimed, very proud.

"I bet you did, Sweety." Izumi smiled and picked him up to set in her lap.

Inoue searched the room. "Where's Ryunashi? I would expect him to be here right now."

Mama got a very _dark_ look. "I wouldn't, not if he expects to continue on with his existence." Kikyo wasn't sure why, but Mama was _mad_ at Papa.

"Uh oh~, what could he possibly have done?" Inoue almost back up from the expression.

"Come on, let's get some coffee from down the hall." She stood and placed the toddler next to Kikyo as the two women exited the room, already whispering before the door shut behind them.

"Oh no Ryunashi, what have you done?" Oji cringed as he remembered Mama's look.

"I dunno." Kikyo shrugged. Her mother had come in not long after her father had left and was coddling her so much it was driving her crazy!

"Anyway!" Oji clapped his hands together enthusiastically. "Let's move on to something else! We got candy and toys so let's play!"

"I made a cawd!" Kenshin waved his hand back and forth before showing a piece of paper with colored scribbles on it. "See! Hewes Suzu' an me an Howu-nee an hanji!" Seriously, scribbles.

"Suzume made you a card too." Hotaru pointed to her dark haired sister whom was holding a folded paper. "Come on, tell her what it says."

The toddler blinked up at her cousin then down at her card then back again. "Haha, you wost," the two year old said in the most blunt tone. Everyone in the room froze for a second, feeling the temperature drop.

Kikyo's eyebrow twitched, broke arm or not she was about to throw the two year old out the window.

"Oh look at that!" Oji checked his bare wrist nervously. "It's time for a potty break!" He scooped the to-be-doomed child up and carried her outside the room.

"Wait Daddy! I hav'ta potty too!" Kenshin slid off the bed and toddled after his father and sister.

"You're sister's gonna get it." Kikyo's eyebrow continued to twitch.

"She's two Kikyo."

"I don't care." She tried to cross her arms but ended up pouting because of her casted arm.

"Are you okay?" Hotaru fiddled with her fingers and avoided eye contact.

"Yeah, I've had worse." Kikyo examined herself, surely there was a time when her condition sucked worse… she just couldn't think of any at the moment. "What about you? How'd you get away? Did they hurt you?"

"They didn't get far. Daddy saved me." Hotaru sat on the side of the bed and hugged one of the teddy bears and pet its head.

"Oji?" Kikyo found it hard to believe that her goofy uncle could take out those guys.

"Daddy's stronger than he looks Kikyo." Hotaru gave her a look that said that she better not insult her daddy right now.

"Whatever," She rolled her eyes. "I'm just glad those asses didn't get away with it."

"Yeah," she said half-heartedly as she helped herself to some of the candy Oji brought for Kikyo.

Kikyo thought back to when it happened and just remembered something. "Hotaru?" The green haired girl looked up with her cheeks filled with chocolate like she was a chipmunk or something. "What's a Jinchuriki?" They had called Hotaru that twice that Kikyo knew of. It sounded like an insult or something. She almost felt bad for asking because Hotaru flinched and looked away, swallowing all the chocolate at once. "Never mind, it doesn't matter." Kikyo took a page from her cousin's book and grabbed some sweets.

Hotaru sighed. "I guess you should know. You'll probably just ask Ryu-oji or Izumi-oba or Kitsune-san anyway."

Well, she wasn't wrong.

"Jinchuriki means _the power of human sacrifice_ in an old language."

"That's very helpful, thanks," she snarked.

"I wasn't done yet." Hotaru huffed. "It's a special term used to describe a special kind of person."

"We all knew you were _special_ , Hotaru."

"Kikyo! Stop interrupting!" She made an annoyed face like she usually did when Kikyo was being particularly bothersome. "A Jinchuriki is a person that has a demon sealed inside them." She sighed again and wouldn't meet Kikyo's eyes anymore. "There are nine demons and so nine Jinchuriki. The demons are also called biju – you've heard of one: the Kyubi no Kitsune."

"Wait, _you're_ —"

" _No_ , Kikyo. _That_ Jinchuriki was a newborn, I would have been about four months old. The demon sealed inside me is the Sanbi no Kyodaigame."

"So… you have a turtle in you?"

"…yes. Basically."

"And they wanted the turtle?" Hotaru nodded. " _Why_?"

"Because biju are powerful. They're beings made entirely of chakra. You've heard about the Kyubi, all biju are just as strong."

Kikyo pondered on this. Hotaru had some kind of big, powerful turtle monster – trust Hotaru to have the least scary kind of monster – trapped in that tiny little body of hers? Kind of makes sense out of her appetite though. Still, it was hard to imagine _Hotaru_ had the kind of power the _Kyubi_ did—wait, that's so unfair!

"You jerk!" Kikyo threw one of the stuffed animals at her cousin and hit the other seven year old in the face. "Do you even _realize_ how much harder I'm going to have to train now?! Just to make sure I can match that?!"

There was a pause where Hotaru just looked like a confused puppy. "…Wait, what?"

"The power of the Kyubi?! Seriously, like this week couldn't get any worse!" Kikyo exclaimed as she threw her arms up in the air. "And now I can't even fricking train because of this fricking cast!" She waved her broken arm like it was the worst thing in the entire world.

"Bu-but I can't actually use—you're not gonna call me a demon?" Hotaru looked totally perplexed.

Kikyo looked back at her cousin with her own confusedblook. "Why the hell would I do that? Seriously Hotaru, of the two of us I'm the more demonic one." And damn proud of it too.

"B-but I… b-but you… b-but…"

"Now toss me the fricking chocolate! I need comfort food." It was probably the last she was gonna get for a while because she needed to start a training regimen when she got out of here.

"B-but… o-okay…"

…

Kikyo watched as Kitsune worked with Hotaru on her kenjutsu with a small scowl on her face. She wanted to practice too, but since she left the hospital that morning people have been telling her just to stay rested and recover, but it was so unfair! So what if she had a concussion and a broken arm! She still wanted to train and show her father that she was strong and mature enough for a real sword! It didn't help that people were treating her too nicely like a wounded animal, but seriously, she was _fine_. If anything she was restless.

She watched as Kitsune easily beat Hotaru and instructed the child on the correct method to go about what she had done wrong before smiling and gently nudging the green haired Tadashi over to where the water and Kikyo were.

"How are you feeling?" Kitsune squatted down to her sister to check her _again_. Ever since she returned from her mission and found out what happened she's been hovering over her like she was going to drop dead at any moment (Not entirely impossible for a Tadashi, but not the point).

"Bored." She gave her sister a bland look.

"Those bastards are lucky Ojisan found them first." The young teen's face grew dark. "But I guess what really matters is that you're safe."

"Yeah I am, now stop acting like my nurse." She swatted at her. "All of this damn coddling is going to kill me. You really want to kill me Nee-san?"

"I am not acting like a nurse, I'm acting like your big sister." Kitsune gave her a scolding look. "And I will act like a nurse if I want. The main priority of a medic is to ensure the safety of their patients."

"Oh guess what Kikyo!" Hotaru beamed. At least that was better, Hotaru must have felt guilty or something because she had been acting weird lately. "Kitsune-san just asked if I want to learn to be a medic! That way I can help take care of you too!" Her grin went from ear to ear.

Kikyo looked up to her sister. "So, you _are_ trying to kill me. I should have known." She shook her head.

"Hey that's not nice Kikyo." Hotaru puffed out her cheeks. "I've been doing really well with my chakra control and Kitsune-san asked if I wanted to see if I could use it to help people. How could I say no?"

"Like this, no."

"Kikyo," Kitsune gave a warning tone. But Kikyo wonder what she could actually do to her, she was already busted up all to hell. The older brunette turned back to the green haired girl and gave her a kind smile. "I think that's enough for now Hotaru, dinner will be ready soon and I think we've worked up quite the appetite don't you think?"

"Yeah!" She threw her arms up in the air in celebration. The rest of the evening went without much of a fuss… until that night at bedtime.

There shouts going back and forth in Ryunashi and Izumi's room. Kikyo peeked around the corner, but Kitsune covered her ears so she couldn't get much from it other than Mama was angry that Papa scolded Kikyo without her or something like that. Mama kept saying 'She's seven!' But Kikyo couldn't understand what her age had to do with anything other than her having to grow up and take responsibility like she was supposed to. There was finally a push sending Papa outside the room, a slam, and the clicking of a lock.

Ryunashi's eyebrow twitched. "I can pick the lock you know!"

"You do that and you won't like what's on the other side!" Mama shouted from back within the room. Papa grumbled curse words all the way to the couch in the main living room when he moved some pillows and dropped down.

"Nee-san, why is Papa on the couch?" Kikyo looked up to her sister who was glaring at her father.

"Because Papa can be a jerk sometimes."

"But why did Mama send him to the couch?"

"Because she's mad at him. And frankly, I don't blame her." Kitsune was leaned down and whispering to her sister.

"But why the couch?"

"It what happens to husbands when they mess up and anger their wives."

"So…" She blinked up at her. "We'll do that to our husbands one day?"

"Yes… More likely you than me, but yes."

"Yeah, Itachi-san is really hard to stay mad at."

Kitsune's face showed a little color. "Stop talking about us like that!" she whisper yelled. "That's not how it is and you know it!"

"Girls." Ryunashi didn't raise his voice, but it still felt booming. "Bed."

"Yes Papa!"

"Yes Otousan."

The next day Kikyo kept pondering over ways to show them that she was ready to be more of an adult, that she was ready for her own sword. Finally, that night at dinner she had decided on what her next step would be and she took it.

"Um… Otousan?" she asked hesitantly. Ryunashi raised his head but turned to Kitsune as if she were the one speaking.

"It wasn't me." The teen held up her hands and pointed to Kikyo.

"Kikyo, why did you call me that?"

"Because," She cleared her voice. "I think it's time I grew up and began addressing you as such."

"Kikyo, you don't have to do that." Ma-Okasan waved her hands and shot an angry glare at her husband.

"No, it's okay. Otousan told me that I needed to grow up so that I could carry a real sword. I think this is the first step to that, Okasan." The woman looked upset by the notion and stormed off from the table. There was an awkward silence for a while. "D-did I do something wrong?"

"No Kikyo, what you did was perfectly fine. Your mother is just blowing it out of proportion." Ryunashi stood up and followed.

"Well," Kitsune clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "Looks like Otousan will spend another night on the couch."

"Or the rest of the week." Oji added and Inoue-oba elbowed him.

"Ryu-oji in twouble~" Suzume said.

"Daddy?" Hotaru looked up to her father. "Should I change what I call you?"

The white haired man made a panicked face and squeezed the eight year old. "No! Not ever! I love being Daddy!"

"O-okay!" Hotaru patted his back in hopes of getting him to let go.

Meanwhile at the other end of the estate.

"This is all your fault Ryunashi!" Izumi threw several shuriken at her husband as he entered the room after her.

"I don't see what's so wrong with it." His brow furrowed. He wasn't much older than Kikyo then he changed to the more formal way of addressing his parents.

"Fine then," she scoffed. "You can sleep on the couch again until you figure it out." The brunette crossed her arms.

"But I didn't _do_ anything! Yes, maybe I was too harsh on her about the Kiri incident, but I was only trying to make her understand that there are consequences for actions."

"You told our _seven year old_ never to cry!"

"Yes! And I paid for that by waking up with a stiff back this morning. But this, there's nothing _wrong_ with this! We're still her parents, she's just addressing us in a more adult fashion!"

"I get the feeling you're going to be on that couch for a while." She gave him a dark look.

"But this transition is perfectly normal! Kitsune did it too, we all did!"

"A, Kitsune was eleven when she did it. And B, She. Is. _Seven_. You have just made my baby stop calling me Mama!" She threw her arms away from Ryunashi as though she was completely done with him. "Now couch!"

"But…" The hardened shinobi and head of the Tadashi clan received a look so dark that he turned on his heel. "Where's the damned throw blanket?" he muttered mostly to himself.

"You don't deserve the throw blanket." Izumi huffed and slammed the door behind him.


	4. Tadashi Curse

Kikyo walked down the main street of the compound trying to decide what to do that day. She had just started the Academy and already finished her homework for that day so she had a _lot_ of time to kill before the evening's kenjutsu session with Kitsune. Kikyo smirked she was getting close to mastering the clan's Nisshoku kenjutsu style which meant she wasn't far from her Ken no Keisho. About time too, she was glad she'd be able to go through the ceremony before she turned nine, at least then she would have done it the same age as her sister.

Hm… maybe she should stop by Tomoe's and start early. Each visit to Tomoe's was a painful experience, but always enlightening and it made Kikyo stronger.

She was near the edge of the compound when she was greeted by one of the elders, Tatsuo.

"Kikyo." He nodded curtly.

"Tatsuo-ossan." She nodded back with a smirk.

"Tch, disrespectful child."

"Thank you, Tomoe taught me how."

"Figures," he scoffed. Tatsuo was never very fond of Kikyo and was always snapping at her to act right and to take care of herself. When Kikyo complained about it Otousan made a small smile and told her it was because Kikyo was a lot like Tomoe… She personally didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted.

But today Kikyo decided to take it easy on the old man because he didn't look so good. His eyes seemed tired, his face was pale, and he seemed to be having a bit of trouble breathing. Kikyo took a few steps and passed him when she heard him cough up a storm from behind her followed by a horrible gurgling noise and the sound of a liquid hitting the ground in a _splat_.

Kikyo turned to see the man hunched over, leaning on a wall and on the ground before him was a puddle of blood.

"Tatsuo-ossan!" She ran to him. "What happened? Are you okay?"

The man went into another coughing fit, sending more blood onto the ground. He looked down at the blood as though it had just murdered someone. "No, I'm not," he said in a calm voice. "Kikyo, go get an adult. I need to get my affairs in order." He said all of this calmly but there was a numbing tone to his voice.

"Your… affairs?"

"Just hurry Kikyo, before it's too late! Gah!" He cringed in pain and covered his eyes with his hand only to have blood begin to leak from between his fingers.

"Otousan!" Kikyo took off to find her father. "Otousan!"

"Kikyo?" Instead of her father, Bakuryuu rushed to the girl. "What's wrong?"

"Tatsuo-ossan!" She pointed, unsure of how to describe what she just saw.

"… Kikyo, that's not a very nice way to describe an elder." Bakuryuu shook his head.

"Oji! Something's wrong with him!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"There's blood, and it's—" before she could even finish Bakuryuu had taken off in the direction Kikyo had come from.

"Stay there Kikyo!" He pointed accusingly.

Kikyo didn't see Oji or Otousan for the rest of the evening. She wondered what happened to Tatsuo-ossan and hoped whatever it was, it wasn't contagious.

"Are you okay sweety?" Izumi asked as she placed some juice out for her daughter.

"I'm fine Okasan." Kikyo crossed her arms. Why did she have to treat her like some little kid?! She was eight years old now dammit!

"I'm just making sure. What you saw today must have been hard." She played with Kikyo's ponytail.

"What was wrong with him Okasan?" Kikyo looked up to her mother.

The pretty woman downed her eyes. "It's best if your father or your Oji tells you."

"Or your sister," a silky voice said from the hallway. Both turned to see Kitsune standing there looking like she came straight there from a mission because she was still in her ANBU attire.

"Nee-san, did you hear?"

"Yes Kikyo." She nodded. "Come on. Otousan wanted me to tell you why it happened and Ojisan asked if I could tell Hotaru too."

"What about the twins?" Kikyo asked as she hopped down from her seat.

"They just _might_ still be a little young to know," Kitsune let out a humorless chuckle.

"Okay." Kikyo approached her sister when their mother wrapped her arms around both girls suddenly. Kikyo was ready to yell at her mother for doing something so stupid but stopped when she saw how sad she looked.

"It's times like these that make me wish I could stop you girls from growing up." Her lip trembled as she gripped both her daughters tighter and gave them both a kiss on the head.

"What did Okasan mean by that?" Kikyo asked her sister as the two set out to the house that Inoue and Bakuryuu bought after the fire at the Senju compound.

"Kikyo, do you know the average lifespan of a Tadashi clan member?" her sister asked seriously.

Kikyo looked up at her with a confused expression. "No, i just know that it's not very good."

"The majority of the Tadashi have the average lifespan of about thirty to thirty-five years. Every now and again we get some members that reach their forties but that's about it." She patted her sister's head. "Take it easy on Okasan, okay? Becasue she is very much aware that she will most likely outlive her children and possibly her grandchildren as well."

"Is that why she's always trying to baby us?"

"She's just trying to make the best of a bad situation. To her, we're growing up too fast and she's afraid that means she'll lose us faster that way. Please keep that in mind next time she wants to brush your hair or fix your food or help you with homework."

Kikyo lowered her head, she had never thought about it like that. "I will Nee-san."

"Kitsune! Kikyo!" Hotaru waved from down the street, interupting their conversation, Hanji trailing after her.

"Hotaru, we were just on our way to get you," Kitsune told her as the girl screeched to a halt and her enormous dog nearly ran her over.

"Mama got a call from Daddy and told me to head to the clan compound," she told her cousin.

"That's good. You just saved us a trip across the village Hotaru, thanks." Kitsune smiled and took the nine year old's hand. The three made their way back to the Tadashi compound with the giant fluff ball trailing them and Kitsune led them to one of the many kenjutsu dojos where they took their seats in the middle of the floor.

Hanji noticed. Hotaru patted the floor next to her for Hanji to sit. Instead though the eighty pound dog thought it would be a fantastic idea to mimic a cat and sit in his owner's lap… Hotaru was gasping for air and the other two were too busy laughing to help the struggling eight year old.

"Okay, okay, let's all settle down," Kitsune instructed the others. "We have a lot to discuss today."

"Nee-san, I don't understand. I thought you were just going to tell me about what happened to Tatsuo-ossan. Why is Hotaru here too?" She scratched the back of her cat's ears, making it turn on its motor.

"What happened to Tatsuo-san?" Hotaru cocked her head as Hanji adjusted and settled for just putting his big head in her lap.

"He got really sick all of a sudden! He was walking one minute and then the next he's coughing up blood and bleeding from the eyes!" Kikyo proclaimed as she told her cousin what she saw.

"Ewww, that's terrible! Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know."

"No, he's not," Kitsune said and both girls turned to her. "Tatsuo-san is going to die within the next few days if he's not already." Their jaws hit the ground.

"Kitsune-san, that's horrible!"

"That's Tadashi," she responded. "Girls, there's something you should know about the clan. We're very powerful, unbelievably so. Some may believe it's because of our swords and kenjutsu skills, others may say it's because of our doujutsu, but Tadashi know the real secret behind our power. It's our blood. Because of our blood, anything a Tadashi takes in will either kill them or make them stronger. For example, if you poison a Tadashi, they will experience the symptoms but they will likely live through it due to their advanced healing rate and after that first exposure they are completely immune to that poison and its close neighbors."

"It helps us to adapt?" Hotaru asked.

"That's right Hotaru." She nodded. "Our blood is very special and it takes in whatever makes us stronger. With every generation I think Tadashi have gotten at least a little stronger than the one before. That's why Kikyo and I both have the Tadashi Kekkei Genkai _and_ the Abata Kekkei Genkai from Okasan." She smiled and held her hand out, allowing little bolts of lightning dance around her fingers.

"Cool~" Hotaru's eyes twinkled a little, but paused. "But if that's true, then why do I have the Byakugan?"

Kitsune furrowed her brow. "I've been trying to figure that out since you were born, and so has everyone else."

"Maybe Oji's genes were so lame that it figured Inoue-oba's were better."

Kitsune bit her lip. "Not going to lie, I had a similar hypothesis when Hotaru was born."

"Stop making fun of Daddy!" Hotaru shook her fist at her cousins.

"But it is peculiar none the less. But then again we don't really have many examples of Tadashi crossing with Hyuga so we don't really have anything to compare it too. But considering Suzume has Ojisan's eyes I suppose the other doujutsu could be just as beneficial as the Ryugan that's why it could go either way. Or at least that's my theory." Kitsune smiled.

Kikyo lifted an eyebrow. "Can we just move on already?"

"Be patient Kikyo," Kitsune told her sister.

"No, it's okay, I wanna finish this too," Hotaru said.

"Very well then." Kitsune chuckled and went back to her lecture. "There was a down side to this though. With all of this power comes a great responsibility. This is very important, girls. Tadashi can never _ever_ receive blood because of this. Receiving a blood transfusion could awaken the blood lust that lies dormant within us."

"Blood lust? As in… a need to kill?"

"In a sense, but those who have experienced it have recalled it to being similar to being possessed by a demon. A demon whose killing intent can't be satisfied."

"That sounds scary." Hotaru hugged Hanji's head.

"But that's so stupid." Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Why would anyone _want_ to do that?"

"Their will to live Kikyo. On the battlefield terrible things can happen and sometimes people can't accept dying there so they go to drastic measures. Our bodies adapt to medicine too quickly and we can't receive transfusions. Dying on the battlefield is one of two options for dying in our clan considering we don't get sick. Awakening blood lust, it may cut your remaining lifespan in half, but it almost always guaranties one's survival at that moment."

"Well considering the average lifespan is in the mid-thirties you might as well just die then and there. There'd be no point in going on like that, might not even make it back to safety." The girl reclined back to lean on the wall.

"Kikyo! That's so mean!" Hotaru scolded.

"You really think so?" Kitsune raised an eyebrow.

"Duh."

"Alright, keep that in mind when you become a genin." Her sister smirked a little.

"Come on Nee-san, I'm getting restless." Kikyo whirled her finger around like the arm of a clock.

Kitsune rolled her eyes, but kept her smile. "It very soon became a law of the Tadashi clan to never unlock your blood lust, because if it were to happen, even though it could save your life at the time, you could very well lose yourself if it is not managed properly. Another law was to not give your blood to anyone, the transfusion would save a life even if they were an inch from death, but they would forever be connected with the donor and it could be extremely dangerous for both parties. Remember girls, _never_ give blood to anyone. It could cause many problems if they were able to weaponize it. Among other things."

"Among other things?" Hotaru cocked her head.

"The Tadashi clan Hotaru, our blood is both a gift and a curse at the same time. If you give your blood to someone else, even if it's to save their life, you wouldn't be doing them much of a favor. First the transfusion would have to even take, if it doesn't the person could die then and there. But if they live, there's a blood bond between the donor and recipient. Meaning the recipient will gain the abilities our clan possesses, especially that of the owner, but, by doing so you've not only sucked them into your death, but an entirely new and terrible one of their own, the Curse."

"I don't get it?" Hotaru cocked her head.

"For example Hotaru." Kitsune held up her hand. "Say you were dying on the battlefield and I performed a blood transfusion in order to save you and it took. Your wound would heal quickly and your condition stabilized within minutes and you would also inherit my Abata clan Kekkei Genkai because it's already in my blood, but later on down the road when I died you would _feel_ my death as it came down on me and, if you weren't a Tadashi, your own death may likely be caused by the Curse as well."

"I've heard a lot about the Curse, but what does it do?"

"The Curse of the Tadashi clan. In exchange for taking in only what makes us stronger, immunity to poison and illness, and our quickened healing rate the Tadashi are doomed to suffer painful and bloody death." Kitsune looked down. "The only time a Tadashi will ever get sick is when they are about to die. It begins with feeling weak and possibly a fever, then the coughing begins. It feels like there's no oxygen in your lungs and they are collapsing inside your body. Finally the blood begins, you begin to cough it up and not long after the fluid will leak from your eyes, nose, and ears trying to escape your body eventually you'll bleed out and die from it. It could take less than a day to happen, but there are some cases that have drug out for nearly a week. Out of the entire history of the clan no one has ever survived the Curse."

"So, is that what happened to Tatsuo-san?" Hotaru asked, looking pale.

"Yes. Now you both understand."

"Nee-san!" Kikyo said. "Can I just point out one thing? You couldn't give blood to Hotaru though even if you wanted to! That could awaken her blood lust and, if she had the Ryugan to start with, the Ketsurui Ryugan." Kikyo crossed her arms.

"You're still caught up in that? Were you even _listening_ about the Curse?" Kitsune had a sweat drop.

"Kesti—what?" Hotaru blinked.

"Ojisan has been skimping out on your lessons again hasn't he?" Kitsune had another sweat drop.

"…No~"

"Yes."

"…Maybe, but that's only because I _might_ have built a treehouse in my room and he got distracted." She whistled innocently.

A tr-never mind. Kikyo didn't want to know.

"The Ketsurui Ryugan happens when a Tadashi injects or ingests—" Kikyo began, ignoring her cousin.

"Eww!"

"Shut up!" Kikyo wanted to explain this one. "Anyway, or ingests the blood of a clan member. It takes their Ryugan to a whole new level that's off the charts! Put that along with the blood lust from the transfusion and you got a real monster on your hands. Granted the monster is short lived, but still a monster none the less. You'll go blind and your body will begin to shut down within five to ten years, depending on how often you use it. It's sketchy, but the time is about a month off your remaining life span for every second it's used. But, there's a way around it." Kikyo held her finger up. "If the one with the Ketsurui Ryugan can transplant the fully developed Ryugan of someone with the same genes as them then they will be able to avoid a few of the side effects."

"Same genes? So just anyone in the clan?"

"No Hotaru. Same genes as in the same DNA. They would have to be the same as the person with the Ketsurui Ryugan, like both of the parents or a sibling." Kitsune gazed at Kikyo with a sad expression.

"…oh." Kikyo believed all this depressing talk was getting to Hotaru.

"Our clan's doujutsu is a very curious thing," Kitsune pondered aloud. "The Ryugan can't even be used to its fullest without the assistance of a Sharingan, although in my own personal opinion that's a defense mechanism that evolved over the years to help combat the Ketsurui Ryugan."

"I wonder when mine will awaken." Kikyo could just see herself getting stronger just by having the doujutsu.

"I don't know, Kikyo." Kitsune shook her head. "Our eyes are a very peculiar thing." Kitsune activated her eyes to show the girls. Kikyo watched as her sister's blue eyes changed to a purply-violet color, the pupil shifted to the shape of a black four point star, and around the corners of the iris four small black diamonds were rotating, ready for action. Looking at the doujutsu it almost seemed too easy to figure out where the clan got there symbol. It _was_ modeled after the Ryugan after all. "Can either of you even tell me which diamond does what?" She quirked an eyebrow, challenging the girls.

"Oh! Oh! That's easy!" Hotaru raised her hand, glad the lesson had gone on to a lighter topic. "The left one is for ultraviolet light and the right one is for infrared! That's why we're go good a forensic-y stuff because we can see biological matter left behind at a crime scene even when people clean it up!"

"That and the top diamond." Kikyo pointed. "It's analytical meaning when it's activated everything is in high definition and details are inflated almost, making it incredibly easy to remember detail, and if used correctly it could be used in a similar fashion as the Sharingan."

"And disposing of bodies. Right Kitsune-san?" Hotaru looked up to the ANBU tracker.

"Mmhmm." She nodded.

"And the bottom is for genjutsu. Having that makes any Ryugan possessor immune to normal genjutsu and also lays out an arsenal of genjutsu for themselves thanks to the Sharingan… as long as you don't completely suck at it." Kikyo pointed to the fourth and final diamond on the bottom.

"Isn't it guaranteed?" Hotaru asked.

"There _have_ been a few that just didn't have any talent for genjutsu whatsoever." Kitsune shook her head, possibly thinking of a clan member or two that couldn't perform a genjutsu to save their lives. "I think that's enough for today, don't you girls?" She smiled.

"Should I have taken notes?" Hotaru asked.

"I didn't." Kikyo shrugged.

"Of course _you_ didn't, you never take notes."

"Because I remember whatever the hell Iruka-sensei say just fine without it."

"Oh yeah?" Hotaru stood and put her hands on her hips. "How many basic hand signs are there?"

"Twelve, each one representing an animal from the Zodiac." Kikyo rolled her eyes and Hotaru deflated a little. "I'm not Naruto, Hotaru. Just because I'm not a boring wet blanket that takes down everything he says doesn't mean I'm stupid or not listening."

"Haha, why don't you girls go have some fun with the remainder of the day?" Kitsune ushered them out of the dojo.

"But Nee-san!" Kikyo pouted. "I thought you were going to train with me!" She crossed her arms and scowled at her big sister.

"I'm sorry Kikyo," Kitsune wrapped her little sister in a hug. "There are some very important things I have to take care of today. I wouldn't have even come home if I hadn't been asked to inform you about the Curse."

"Well, that's nice to know." Kikyo pouted once more.

"Now," She gently slapped Kikyo upside the skull. "You two go play or something, have some fun. Enjoy the day." Was Kikyo imagining it or did she sound a little sad when she said that.

"Nee-san, we are shinobi in training now, we don't _play,_ we train." Kikyo detached herself.

Hotaru on the other hand didn't argue with the older Tadashi and jumped in for a hug of her own when Kitsune extended her arm to her. "Okay Kitsune-san! I'll be sure to do my best to keep Kikyo out of trouble, but no promises." She grinned.

"That's all I can ask for." Kitsune gave both girls one of her award winning smiles and went in to embrace both one more time.

It was almost a full day and a half until Kikyo saw her father again, she was in one of the clearings out behind the main estate when Ryunashi found her practicing kenjutsu.

"Kikyo," her father said in his normally stern tone.

"Yes Otousan?" She lowered her sword and gazed up at her father.

"Come with me," he ordered and the eight year old obediently chased after.

"What is it?" she asked as she caught up and grasped his big, tough hand with both of hers.

"It's a surprise." He glanced down with a slight smirk.

"A surprise?" Kikyo quirked an eyebrow. Oji was normally the one who did surprises, they normally consisted of treats and candy, but Otousan, he was always much more straight forward. "Can't you just tell me?" She pouted, mean tomboy or not she had ways of making her father give in to what she wanted.

"It's better to show you." He slid open the door to the shrine on the main estate and led the girl over to a wall where many katana hung, each and every one of them were a masterpiece of the past. Ryunashi's hand skimmed through as one would when browsing a bookshelf for a particular novel before finally halting on a katana whose scabbard was black with turqiose speckles on it, a golden guard with an eastern dragon carved into it, and a handle with teal cloth wrapped around it. "This is Kumorigachi, the first blade I wielded before I inherited Hogoken." He removed it from the shelf and handed it to Kikyo. "You asked me a year ago if you could carry a real sword. At the time I was extremely hesitant, but now I feel more comfortable with the notion."

"Otousan, does this mean…?" Kikyo's face broke out into a wide grin.

"Kikyo, I was very angry then and I was possibly too hard on you, but understand." He knelt down to his child's height. "You scared me then, I nearly lost you." He clasped his hand on his shoulder. "A parent shouldn't outlive their child, it destroys them. Believe me, I've seen it. I just want you to be ready for whatever may come in the future." He handed the blade to her.

"My own katana! I'll take great care of it, I promise!" She excitedly tied the sword to her hip and beamed at him. "The sword is an honored weapon that is painstakingly made with seat, blood, and tears. It is not a toy and should only be drawn in dire circumstances." She raised her hand and recited what was drilled into her head since her first day of kenjutsu training.

"Swords are made to kill, when one is drawn that should be the intent," he finished for her.

"Hey Otousan?" Kikyo cocked her head. "When am I going to get to have my Ken no Keisho?"

Ryunashi furrowed his brow, thinking this over. "A Ken no Keisho is a big responsibility Kikyo."

"I know that! It's a big step and it means that I'm a grown up!"

"I'll have to test you first, just to make sure…but, you _have_ been making extraordinary progress, especially in this last year…" he said hesitantly.

"Great!" She beamed and wrapped her arms around his neck, there was a slight hesitation but the man returned the embrace. "You won't regret this Otousan! I'll pass and then I'll have my Ken no Keisho and you'll be proud!"

"I already am, Kikyo."

"I'm going to go show the others!" She detached herself and wore a mischievous grin.

"Just… don't cut the Hokage's son in half." He smirked and had a sweat drop on his head.

"No promises!" She waved as she hopped out the door to go find the other three.


	5. A clan

Kitsune had rocks in her stomach and a lump in her throat as she knocked on Tomoe's door. She wished so bad that it wouldn't come to this, but it had. Shisui was gone now and there was no more delaying, but at the very least Tomoe might be willing to do Kitsune this one favor.

"I'm coming!" There was a clamor from within the home. "Son of a bitch!" Kitsune smiled a little at Tomoe's curse. "What?!" the young woman exclaimed as her door swung open.

"Hello Tomoe-san." The humor from the moment earlier had faded and Kitsune had to fake a smile.

"Oh it's just you, I thought it was that runt sister of yours. Brat comes by here almost every day looking for a match." She scoffed but Kitsune caught a glimpse of a smile, even if it was only for a second.

"I'm sure Kikyo appreciates the help, everyone at the compound has been so busy lately and some were afraid she wasn't getting in the practice she needed for a while there." Kitsune bowed in gratitude.

"Eh, no sweat. Someone has to teach that little runt how to fight." Tomoe crossed her arms and ushered for Kitsune to follow her into the home, leading the teen to the kitchen where she made some tea for the pair.

"And taught you have," she said with a sad smile. "She's been working very hard and there's been talk of arranging her Ken no Keisho within the next few days." Her expression darkened.

"Well, ain't that fan-fucking-tastic." Tomoe sipped her tea. "Be nice to represent Kyuketsukitou if they invited me," she scoffed. Kitsune had inherited two of the clan's sword so obviously she'd have to choose which one to stand behind in the ceremony and considering Tengokusaya hasn't had another wielder in so long and Kyuketsukitou's previous owner is alive and kicking…

"Of course they would Tomoe-san, you're still one of us," she told her cousin reassuringly. "But…" The teen downed her eyes, it was time to get down to why she was there in the first place. "Even from family… some people keep secrets."

"Okay, what's eating at you, Kid?" Tomoe nearly slammed her tea down on the table. "You look like someone shot your puppy."

"Tomoe-san, do you remember about nine years ago when the Kyubi attacked the village?"

Her cousin just gave her the strangest look. "How could anyone fucking forget that? Why do you even bring that up now?"

"The fox, I never saw it for myself, but I heard many people talking about it. They said they saw Sharingan in its eyes."

Tomoe froze, possibly thinking back to the night. Kitsune had heard of how Tomoe disobeyed her orders to stay with her peers and instead went out to fight the beast with the other shinobi.

"What about it?" She lifted an eyebrow, not sure where this was going.

"Well Tomoe-san, word spread about it, some began to wonder about the Uchiha's loyalty to the village. My father did a full investigation of it and couldn't identify the Sharingan responsible."

"What's this getting to? Spit it out already dammit!" Tomoe exclaimed impatiently, reminding Kitsune of Kikyo.

"There have been some tensions building up, escalating drastically in just the last few years because of it. Mistrust has spread between some of the other shinobi and the Uchiha and Tadashi. Tomoe-san," Kitsune looked to her with pleading eyes. "They've staged a coup de ta. The Uchiha are the ones behind it, but because of the bond between the clans the Tadashi are supporting them."

"What?!" She slammed her hand down on the table, cracking the wood.

"It's been delayed, but that's all we can do at the moment. Soon, and very soon, there will be action."

"Why the fuck am I _just now_ being informed of this?!" she demanded.

"Because they didn't want you to be a part of it. You're a student of the Fourth Hokage and feared when you might have done. Fugaku-san is the one leading the coup, he's twisted my father's arm for cooperation in which my father complied, feeling as though the Tadashi were being persecuted as well because of our ancient bond with the Uchiha."

"This… this is…" Tomoe threw her cup, making it shatter against the wall.

"Because of the stress of planning the coup several Tadashi have succumb to the Curse."

"Wait, do you think that also means—"

"Tatsuo-san was very much involved, he was the one who was pushing my father the most in the issue."

"Fuck you Otousan!" Tomoe threw her center piece this time. "Anyone _else_ left out of this little loop?" she snarled.

"Ojisan."

"…Well, can't say I blame them on that one." She almost shrugged.

"Otousan made the argument to the elders that Oji would be a risk because of his marriage to a Senju, but…" Kitsune smirked a little. "I think he's just trying to keep him out of trouble when this goes south and we all know it will."

"So," Tomoe cracked her knuckles. "What's the plan? Who are our other allies in this?"

"What makes you think such things?" Kitsune asked a little playfully.

"Well, you obviously aren't here so we can scrapbook it am I right?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Yes Tomoe-san, you're right." The stressed teen smiled.

"You're damn right I'm right!"

"Out of all those in the clans, the only ones that are resisting are Itachi, Shisui, and myself. Itachi is the one leading the counter measures." Kitsune downed her eyes. "But, we lost Shisui just the other day which made me come here." She rubbed her face in her hands, angry at herself for bringing Tomoe into this, but she couldn't think of any other way. "Please Tomoe-san. When this is over. Please, look after Kikyo, she's going to need all the help she can get."

"What the fuck are you getting at?"

"Our counter measure for the coup. Please, when it's over Kikyo's going to need someone to keep an eye out for her."

"Kitsune, what the fuck are you planning on doing?!"

"It was decided Tomoe-san, that the Tadashi and Uchiha clans are to be terminated." Kitsune's shoulders shook. "It was Danzo-sama's plan and-and, I don't think there's another way around it at this point. They are weeks, maybe not even that long away, from acting upon their plans. There's no stopping it now, not even Shisui…" Kitsune pinched the bridge of her nose.

Tomoe's face got very dark. "Kitsune, who exactly has Danzo decided will be doing the terminating?" The words were quiet and cold and the younger kunoichi could honestly say she'd have preferred her cousin's shout.

"Itachi and I." Frighteningly, Tomoe's face got darker. "But, Danzo has allowed leniency based on Itachi's request. He will allow him to spare his little brother." She shook. "I asked him, I begged for the same privilege but Tomoe-san…" Kitsune looked up and gazed at the young woman she admired like an older sister. "He doesn't want Kikyo to live Tomoe-san, he sees her as a possible threat in the future. I begged him and told him I couldn't, I wouldn't and he finally allowed it on one condition…" Her shoulders shook. "I have to cripple my little sister…" Kitsune clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut, just thinking of what she was going to have to do made her sick to her stomach.

Tomoe's face suddenly seemed unnaturally blank. The twitching muscle of her jaw was the only motion. Still, Kitsune could _feel_ her anger as if it were a tangible force. "I see," is all she said. The words were calm, cold. _Chilling_. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly and she leaned back in her seat.

"Tomoe-san, please. Danzo-sama, I don't trust him to keep his word, not at all. I'm terrified of what he might do to her and I won't be able to protect her after this. You're the only one who can do it." She gripped her hands, pleading with the older Tadashi. "Please, keep my little sister safe." Her eyes shined, damned tears threatening to show their ugly faces.

"I get the feeling your sister isn't the one you should worry about." Her voice was still that unnatural sort of calm – unnatural for Tomoe anyway. It was making Kitsune way too nervous, she would prefer the shouty, bitchy Tomoe to this one any day.

"Please, Tomoe-san." She just didn't understand, Kitsune may have to do a lot in the next few days, but Kikyo, poor little Kikyo, her life was going to be hell. Kitsune only prayed she could find some form of normalcy when this was all over.

"I'll keep an eye on her. You have my word."

"Thanks."

…

"Okay! Okay! I give! I give!" Naruto tapped out on the ground with his arm twisted behind him.

"Great! What's my time?" Kikyo clapped her hands together and turned to Sasuke and Hotaru who were watching a little pocket watch.

"Two minutes and fifteen seconds," Hotaru informed her.

"Damn, so close to a new record." Kikyo snapped her fingers.

"Dammit Kikyo! You nearly broke my arm, dattebayo!" the blonde complained as he rubbed his wrist.

"Sorry Naruto, I've been working on my strength training and I guess I got carried away."

"Rematch!"

"No way, we've all had our rounds for the day," Hotaru interrupted and showed the blonde her bright yellow notebook with blue polka dots— don't ask about the god-awful color, Hotaru was partially color blind so she couldn't see how kill-me-yellow it was… Kikyo wondered if Naruto was color blind too and that's why he chose to wear kill-me-orange—and flipped to the page with their scores on it.

"God, the only one you _haven't_ lost to yet is Hanji." Sasuke took the page and examined it.

"Arf!" The large dog responded to his name and came bounding over.

"Hanji~ Naruto needs a hug~" Kikyo called mischievously, causing the fluffy monster to freeze.

"No! No-no-no-no! I don't I swear! I—gah!" Within seconds he was being suffocated by the weight of having a Hanji on his chest.

"Okay, I take it back." Sasuke jotted down Hanji's win.

"Alright then, who's next?" Kikyo asked. The four were rotating out what kind of training they wanted to work on that day.

"You guys can go on and do whatever. I need to head to the training ground and work on my shuriken technique." Sasuke handed Hotaru her folder back and waved the others off.

"But Sasuke, I thought we arranged this so everyone could get their training in together." Hotaru pouted, not happy that Sasuke lied to them.

"I can't, this technique isn't something that I can work on in a group and I _really_ want to master it," he argued back.

"Which shuriken technique?" Naruto asked after he was finally able to get Hanji off of him.

"You know, the really cool one with the hidden targets Itachi-san showed off the other week," Kikyo reminded him.

"Oh! Yeah, that one is cool~ dattebayo!" He grinned widely.

"Mmhmm, but Sasuke sucks at it so he _really_ needs to work on it."

"Shut up Kikyo!"

"Make me, meh!" She stuck her tongue out.

"But Sasuke, you disappeared for, like, two weeks last time you tried to master something," Naruto argued with his friend.

"I did not disappear! I still went to school and came home and ate dinner, but I was just mastering a jutsu Otousan wanted me to learn." He crossed his arms.

"Oh yeah? I bet you were just ignoring us, dattebayo!" Naruto pointed his finger at him.

"I wish." Sasuke dug in his ear.

"What _were_ you working on then Sasuke?" Hotaru asked.

"I'll show you, but you're not going to like it, Hotaru." He scratched the back of his head.

"What does that—"

"Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" He weaved the hand signs and before anyone else could say anything a giant ball of fire filled the clearing they were in.

"Eep." Hotaru quickly took several steps back behind Kikyo. Ever since the Senju compound caught fire when she was four Hotaru couldn't stand fire, she wasn't even comfortable around little campfires.

"Whoa!" Naruto's jaw dropped.

At that moment Kikyo felt the wind pick up. "Sasuke! Stop the jutsu before—" Several trees caught fire. "That, before that happens." She had a sweat drop.

"Oops." Sasuke quickly backed up away from his mess.

"Suiton: Raging waves!" Kikyo weaved hand signs and attempted to halt Sasuke's little boo boo from spreading all across the village.

"Oh! Oh! I know! I can help save the little animals with this really cool jutsu my dad taught me! Dattebayo!" Naruto held up his middle and index finger of both hands before crossing them. "Shadow clone Jutsu!" From there six more Narutos appeared from clouds of smoke.

"How did you learn _that_ jutsu?!" Sasuke had joined Hotaru in spectating seeing as he had caused enough damage as it was.

"Hehe, like I said, my dad taught me. Dattebayo!" Naruto threw him a peace sign and a cocky smirk before going to help Kikyo. Once the fire had cleared, the two regular trouble makers stood before the two 'good ones' with scolding expressions.

"Why the hell didn't you help clean up your own mess?!" Kikyo crossed her arms and tapped her foot at the Uchiha.

He quirked an eyebrow. "I am a Katon user. The only thing I could have done is make more fire."

"Haven't you ever heard of fighting fire with fire?!"

"…I don't think that's a real thing."

"Actually," Hotaru held her finger up to correct him, "by burning up anything flammable and cutting off the fire's access to other sources the fire can be put out."

The other three stared at her. "Nerd!" Naruto proclaimed.

"Hey!"

"Yup, nerd."

"You're lame."

"You guys are mean~" Hotaru swatted and drew in the dirt with her finger and wore a dark cloud over her head.

"Well, there's Oji."

"You don't even have a right to tell us what to do Hotaru!" Naruto pointed accusingly. "You didn't help at all! Dattebayo!"

"Well I…" She guiltily played with her hair.

"Come to think of it, you really _don't_ know much of any chakra nature jutsus do you?" Sasuke asked.

"I do too! … I'm just not supposed to do it without Momma or Daddy around."

"… Show us," they demanded in unison.

"B-but I can't!"

"But you let it spill that you know some kind of something cool! You can't just tell us that and then not show us! That's not fair! Dattebayo!"

"Fine!" Hotaru stood with a determined look on her face. "But you can't tell anybody got it!" She pointed her finger and the other three nodded, agreeing to her terms. "Okay." Hotaru clasped her hands together and closed her eyes in concentration. A second later a tree began to sprout from the ground where they stood. "There, now you know." She huffed.

"You… make trees?" Naruto cocked his head. "That's all?"

"That's all?! This is a very important and very rare Kekkei Genkai that's only had one other known user before me!" she exclaimed, voice rising with her temper.

"Who? Some kind of gardener ninja?"

"No you idiot." Kikyo smacked him over the back of his head. "Don't you _ever_ pay attention in class? The last shinobi to have the Mokuton—"

"Moku-what?"

"That's what it's called stupid! Anyway, the last person to have it was the First Hokage." Kikyo pointed to the Hokage monument.

"…oh." He made a stupid face.

"What made it come up in you though?" Sasuke asked. "It had to have skipped, what, three generations?"

"Mmhmm." Hotaru nodded.

"It's quite possible that the Tadashi blood brought it back up. It brings to the surface the genes that'll make someone stronger," Kikyo noted.

"Meh, it still seems kind of lame." Naruto made a face. "I mean, how can making trees be scary? Oh no! You're going to leaf me to death!" He mock screamed and then fell into a fit of giggles.

"That's mean!" Hotaru brought her hands together once more and vines sprouted from the ground, trapping the blonde in their coils.

"Gah! Help!"

"No." Hotaru crossed her arms and turned her nose to the sky.

"Are we done here?" Sasuke asked impatiently. "I still want to practice my shuriken technique and it's nearly dusk now.

"Yeah we're done. I should get going too, we have a lot of planning to do today. Will I see you two tomorrow night?" Kikyo asked Hotaru and Sasuke.

"Of course! This will be the first time I've been to one!" Hotaru grinned.

"I don't really want to." Sasuke complained.

"But Itachi-san will make you go anyway because him, Fugaku and Mikoto-san are going," Kikyo reminded him with a smirk.

"Shut up!"

"What? What are you guys doing tomorrow?" Naruto asked, still trapped under Hotaru's vines.

"Tomorrow is Kikyo's Ken no Keisho," Hotaru explained but Naruto just looked more confused. "It's kind of like a coming of age thing in the Tadashi clan."

"…Oh…"

"You still have no clue do you?"

"…No~"

"I…" Hotaru opened her mouth.

"Well, later." Kikyo waved, not wanted to listen to Hotaru's attempt to enlighten Naruto.

"Wait Kikyo! Naruto's going to have to leave soon too!" Hotaru cried after her.

"And?" Kikyo didn't see why this was her problem.

"If you go now and then Naruto leaves then I'll have to go home." She pouted.

"…Later." Kikyo waved as she left Naruto and Hotaru with their jaws on the ground. Why the other three of them _had_ to choose the training field on the other side of the village was beyond Kikyo's knowledge, it would take her at least twenty minutes to get back to the compound! Stupid Naruto and his stupid _Hey! We don't train at this one often so let's go here! Dattebayo!_ Oh well, she'll just cut him to pieces with whatever sword she gets for her Ken no Keisho. Kikyo gazed down at the sword her father had given her, it was a nice sword and she liked it well enough but Kikyo couldn't wait to get one of her own or at least make one of her own. Part of her wished she was already sixteen so she could try for Naraku, but that was still eight years away.

The sun had already set when Kikyo approached the main gates to the Tadashi compound, even in the dimming light the Tadashi diamond shaped clan symbol still stood out against the white marble walls. As the girl walked farther into the compound she slowed her pace, feeling something was wrong. It was barely dark out, there should have been noise from all over the compound (Tadashis tend to celebrate a lot).

Where the hell was everybody? Surely they all hadn't just up and disappeared right?

"Oi!" Kikyo called as she reached the main estate in the center of the compound. "Okasan! Otousan! You here?" There were no lights on that she could see and there should have at least been some considering it was completely dark now. "Nee-san! Itami!" she called out to her sister then her cat. The girl popped her head around one of the corners of the house and her face lit up at the sight of the person down near the other end turning around the side toward the back. "Itachi-san!" She waved and picked up her pace. Itachi-san was nice, he'd show her where the others were!

The eight year old raced and slid around the corner in order to catch up with the teen, but after doing so she found that he disappeared. "Itachi-san?" She craned her head up and down then side to side. Was he trying to test her? Maybe helping her sharpen her skills? But why would he choose a time like this to do that? "Oi!" she called again to no avail, running around another corner to see if he was just messing with her.

She froze and her eyes widened as a chill went down her spine. She hadn't found Itachi, instead when she turned the corner leading to one of the kenjutsu training fields Kikyo saw an enormous pile of bodies stacked atop one another in the center as though they were preparing for a mass burial.

Impossible, it had to be impossible. The Tadashi Clan was one of the strongest in the entire village, there was no way in _hell_ that _anyone_ had killed so many of her kin. They couldn't be Tadashi. No way. Kikyo cautiously stepped closer, her stomach twisted into knots as part of her whispered that they could be nothing else. As she inched closer, her face paled further as the familiar features of family she passed every day became clearer and clearer. They were, they really were…

 _Splash_.

Kikyo froze at the sound, for a moment not realizing it was from her own foot. Her eyes moved slowly downward, looking to see what she'd stepped in.

Red. Deep, ruby red was pooled on the ground, streaming slowly and thickly from the pile of bodies. Blood, the sacred blood of the Tadashi Clan. It was mixing with the dirt of the training field, making a foul, grotesque image that made her want to vomit.

 _This couldn't be real. No way. It was a genjutsu right? It had to be! This was impossible!_

She brought her hands together and squeezed her eyes closed, trying to block out those horrible images but they had burned themselves so powerfully into her mind that she couldn't get them out. Her lip trembled and her eyes got misty, but she refused to let those tears fall. Crying would help no one, her otousan told her so. She swallowed around a lump in her throat. "Kai," she murmured, her voice frightened and wavy. She sounded pitiful. Her eyes opened and closed again. It hadn't worked, no wonder with as pathetic as she sounded. "Kai!" her voice was still panicked but didn't waver as much. Still, the images remained when she opened her eyes. "Kai! Kai!" she was beginning to sound hysterical, but nothing changed. "Kai!"

Blood continued to pool around her feet, coating them in the sticky red liquid, so she did the only thing an eight year old could: she turned and ran away. "Mama!" she shouted. "Papa!" She hadn't called them that in a while, but the words had burst from her mouth in her panic. "Mama! Papa!"

She felt like there were knives in her lungs as she frantically ran into the nearest building, a kenjutsu dojo, to hide from whatever the hell was strong enough to take down so many Tadashi clansmen.

Kikyo slammed the door behind her, holding her body against it in hopes that whatever kind of monster was out there wouldn't break through the wood. What could she do? It could be anywhere, waiting. What if it was watching her? Kikyo's stomach dropped at the thought of something like that watching her and toying with her before killing her. What if it was attacking the rest of the village too? Kikyo wanted to cry for feeling so helpless and pitiful.

Her sweaty face looked up as her eyes adjusted, even though she thought it was impossible, her face paled even more as she saw two silhouettes on the ground inside the dojo.

No.

No no no no no.

"Papa? Mama?" She quickly left her place by the door and ran to the bodies that still had fresh blood coming from their wounds. She knelt down next to her father, who was face down, and felt for a pulse with a shaky hand only to find that his skin was very cold and white. "Papa?" She shook his shoulder. No, this couldn't be her father. He was the strongest man ever. H-he shouldn't be on the ground like that. "Papa, please wake up." She shook his shoulder more desperately. "I'm scared," she choked out, hoping Ryunashi would raise his head and tell her that he'd kill the monster that slaughtered their loved ones outside.

"Ki…Kikyo…" a very weak voice spoke out and the eight year old jumped as she felt a cold hand reach out and grab her wrist. Her hands were balled into fists as they gripped Ryunashi's shirt for dear life and she turned to see the other bloody figure had crawled to where they were, leaving a slick red trail in its wake. "Close…your eyes… run…" Izumi's eyes already looked somewhat blank and her normally beautiful face was pale with blood spattered on it.

"Mama!" Kikyo released her father and clung to her mother's arm, feeling like there was a little hope after all. Yeah! She could stop the bleeding, that's it! She just had to stop the bleeding and get her to a medic and she'll be just fine! "Hold on! I can get help! We can close your wounds!" She tore off her jacket and desperately pressed it against the large stab wound in Izumi's chest just like Nee-san taught her, but the blood wouldn't stop no matter how hard she pressed. Come on, come on! Just please stop! Please please please please! _PLEASE!_ She'd do anything, anything for the bleeding to stop.

"Run…not…safe…"

"Hush! Save your energy! I can stop this! I'll save you!" Kikyo bit her lip to keep it from trembling and prayed to whatever god would give her the time of day to please make her hands stop shaking so she could press harder.

"Love… you…" Tears brimmed in Izumi's eyes as her bloody hand reached up and the icy appendage touched Kikyo's cheek, brushing a little hair out of the way. Kikyo took a deep breath to keep from sobbing. "Close… your eyes…"

No.

No no no no no no no no!

 _NO_!

Izumi's hand dropped and her sightless eyes stared up at her daughter, tears still brimming in their edges.

"Mama!" Kikyo screamed, hoping to keep her conscious. "Mama!" She pressed even harder hoping light would enter the woman's eyes again, shaking the body a little from her own trembling. "Mama! Mama answer me! Please! Y-you can't! You just can't! I won't allow it!" She gripped her cold hand and squeezed with all her might.

She couldn't leave her!

W-who would make beautiful bento that made all the other kids jealous? Who would yell at her to clean her room? Who would sit Kikyo down and try to flatten her hair?

Who would hug her tight and tell her it's okay to cry sometimes?

Please, don't take her mother!

"Mama… someone, help me," she whimpered pitifully.

"Enough Kikyo," an emotionless voice said from out of nowhere. Kikyo's head shot up and her heart swelled at the sight of Kitsune, even if the teen was looking down at her with a cold expression.

"Nee-san!" M-Maybe she could save Mama! Maybe she could save everyone else! "Nee-san help! You're a medic, help her—"

"She's dead Kikyo, they're all dead."

Kikyo couldn't believe her ears. Why wasn't her sister rushing to her to even check the bodies, or at the very least pull her into a hug and try to comfort her? "B-But you're a medic and you even have Tengokusaya! You can do anything Nee-san! I know—"

"Shut up." Kikyo froze at the sound of her cold tone. "Why would I fight to save them?"

"W-Wha—" This wasn't making any sense.

"When I was the one that killed them in the first place."

Kikyo froze. Did her sister really just say that? No, there was no way in hell Kitsune would ever do something like this. She was nice and kind and loved everybody and-and…

The teen's cold blue eyes stared mercilessly down at Kikyo and her heart that had swelled just a second before felt like someone had filled it with bricks. "Don't lie like that. THIS ISN'T A JOKE DAMMIT!" she shrieked. No, she didn't want any of this! She wanted her big sister to pull her in and embrace her and tell her things were going to be okay because she would fix it because she could do anything! She didn't want her to glare at her like she was the enemy!

"Kikyo, when have I ever lied to you?" Kitsune's eyes pierced her as she took a step towards her. A force radiated off the elder sister that made the eight year old feel sick to her stomach. Instinct told her to react before she could even think about it. Kikyo released her mother's cold palm and stood, feeling her 'fight or flight' kick in.

Kikyo took a step backwards, tripping over the corpse of her father and landing on her back. "Y-You're not my sister!" Yes, that had to be it. This person wasn't Kitsune, she was some kind of imposter that henged and was now trying to scare her into next week.

Well screw her because it wasn't working!

"I'm not the sister you wanted me to be." Her cold blue eyes changed to the purple for the Ryugan, but after it was activated Kikyo could see the shape shifting a complicated collage of diamonds and stars around the black, four pointed star pupil.

Kikyo had never seen a Ryugan do that before, the way the shapes rotated within the iris was almost hypnotizing to watch because it was so complex.

"What did you do?" she asked quietly in horror. Why? What in the world was that?

Kitsune gave her a cold sneer. "You never did pay attention did you? Here's a hint, I took my Ryugan to the next level." Kitsune slowly drew her sword. "Now, be good for once and help preserve your big sister's life." She lunged faster than Kikyo could even comprehend. Kyuketsukitou pierced the floor beside the frozen child. "What's the matter Kikyo? Where's your drive? Your usual arrogant banter? Where's your will to live?!" She grabbed Kikyo by the shirt and threw her, causing her back to slam into the wall and her head to crash back into the hard surface and dent the wall.

"O-ow." Kikyo moved her hand up to rub her skull but paused, staring at the blood that covered her hands. That-that was Izumi's blood. She frantically tried to wipe her hands clean to no avail.

A kunai whizzed by her ear, narrowly missing her head. "Pay attention to your opponent."

"N-Nee-san, stop this!" Kikyo was shaking all over and couldn't stand. She was just so scared, she didn't know what to do. Was this really her sister? Her eyes darted to Kyuketsukitou, the scarlet blade was the real deal. Meaning this wasn't some henge, it really was her big sister doing this to her.

"God you're pathetic." Kitsune swung, putting chakra in her sword causing the slash to go through the wall to Kikyo's left and outside into the wooded area, Kikyo could hear trees falling outside the dojo from their unfortunate encounter with the cut. "Are you such a stupid, worthless person that you can't even stand against me? Don't you want to try and fight for your life?" A dark gleam entered her eye. "Don't you want to try like Otousan did?"

Her sword came down and stuck in the ground near their father's corpse.

The eight year old that was on the verge of tears just seconds ago turned her frightened stare into a hateful glare. That was their father! How dare she even think of doing such a thing to him?! How dare she be so disrespectful?! "Don't. Touch. Him." Her trembling lip ceased and her jaw clenched. How dare she do that?! He did nothing but attempt to make them stronger and this is how Kitsune repays him?!

"Stupid child." Her sword came up and back down through the center of his back, she could hear the blade go straight through his spinal cord and the blade embedded itself deep into the floor and stuck itself there. He didn't shout or flinch, no blood even came from the stab wound. Seeing that made Kikyo feel sick to her stomach. That was their father and she just stabbed him! "He's long since dead, all I could do at this point is desecrate a corpse."

"I said don't touch him! Cut this shit out!" Kikyo lunged with all her might and drew her sword, not caring anymore. This wasn't her sister anymore, this was some kind of heartless monster that had taken her form. She gripped the handle so tight that her knuckles turned white and she pulled the sword around to swing.

As she brought it around all it took was a flick of Kitsune's wrist for Kyuketsukitou to slice through the katana cutting it into two halves.

Kikyo watched in horror as the sword that her father entrusted to her split into two and the majority of the blade fell to the ground and harmlessly slid after landing on the wooden surface.

"You bitch!" Kikyo swung with all her might. Even if it was just an insignificant cut or maybe a bruise she would _make_ her fell _some kind_ of pain! It would be nothing compared to the painful shattered feeling Kikyo had in her chest but at this point anything would do.

Suddenly a new pain overtook the girl, causing her to shudder and drop her broken sword.

An abrupt, burning pain burst to life in her eyes, searing in through the back of her eyeballs and encompassing their entirety. Kikyo didn't think they could have hurt more if they'd been aflame – were they? She really couldn't tell anymore.

Kikyo gripped her eyes, feeling like they were being burnt to a crisp. "What did you do to me?!" she shrieked, trying to look up at Kitsune. God it hurt! She lifted her eyes and the scene she'd been hoping would change since she had stumbled upon it had. But it hadn't changed the way she wanted.

The dead space of the room was pitch black and splashed with pale green that was slowly fading into blue. Her parents who had been so clear moment ago were faded into blue, her father darker than her mother. But her sis—

No, Kitsune wasn't her sister. She couldn't claim her after this. No way in hell.

Kitsune burned bright orange, the edges fading into yellow. Her sword, even in this strange version of the world, was a dastardly red, the sharpened edge the brightest while the blunt edge had faded into orange.

She didn't know what had happened, why she was seeing the world in these strange colors. She lifted her hands shakily, wondering if whatever had happened to everything else had happened to her as well. It had. But while her sister was covered in this orange, only the deepest bit of her palm contained the color. The orange faded into yellow then into green with a thin blue outline surrounding her hand.

"Wh-what the hell is happening to me?!" Kikyo covered her eyes with her hands, trying to force her eyes to see properly once more.

"Pull the chakra from your eyes."

"Fuck you!" Kikyo felt her eyes tearing from the burning sensation as she shouted at the teen. There was no way in hell she would ever do anything she said!

"That is no way to address me." The orange and yellow figure flashed before her and Kikyo felt a foot slam into her stomach, knocking the breath out of her in the process.

Kikyo sputtered and felt herself cough up a bit of blood as she attempted to catch her breath once more.

The yellow figure that was Kitsune swung around Kyuketsukitou's scabbard and Kikyo held her arm up to block, but when the sheath made contact it blasted the girl backwards. The hell? It felt like the sheath itself had attacked her! Kikyo stood again and felt like she had been beaten with a metal bat.

"What will you do now, Kikyo?" Kitsune took a step towards her.

Why? Why was she doing this? Why was this even happening? What happened to make her do this?

"I won't let you get away with this!" Kikyo snarled and felt something fly into her palm as though she were a magnet. "Wha—?" In her hand was a katana. It was odd, the way Kikyo was seeing things a cold blade should have looked dark blue in her bright hand, but the sword had a faint colorful glow to it as though it had a life of its own.

"Congratulations," Kitsune said as her sword came down. Kikyo instinctively held the sheathed sword to block the attack, but something odd happened. The older brunette's blade didn't even made contact before what looked like a shimmery barrier erupted from the sword's scabbard and bounced the scarlet blade backwards. "You are now the proud owner of Hogoken, the Tadashi blade of protection," she finished, un-wavered by the little counter.

Kikyo looked down at the katana in her hand. This-this was Hogoken? How the hell could a sword just _choose_ her without a Ken no Keisho? And how the hell did the sword even _do_ that?!

Nothing was making any sense anymore. Nothing felt right, everything hurt, and now Kikyo couldn't even see right.

Just fuck her life!

She flinched and squeezed her eyes shut as a painful pulse rippled through her temple and the burning faded from her eyes girl pray that she could at least see things normally once more.

But what she saw when she opened her eyes made her wish she could go back to what she was seeing before.

Everything looked somewhat normal but it all had a dark blue tint to it and the background faded into black. The only thing that stood out in this new dark world around Kikyo were the horribly bright splashes of this neon white-ish blue. Kikyo's eyes darted around the room and felt her heartrate quicken the bold, bright places were spattered around the walls and pooled on the ground near her parents. Even the Kyuketsukitou seemed to be coated in the stuff.

Wh-what was all of this? What had Kitsune done to her eyes to make them see all these weird things?! What was happening to her? Would she ever see normally again? God she hoped so. Kikyo wasn't even sure what the bright liquid was, that was until she looked down at her hand and let a strangled cry escape her mouth. Her hands were completely covered in the bright color and a bright blue hand print wrapped around her wrist.

It was blood. All of it.

Oh God, it was everywhere. It looked like someone did a terrible job painting the room in the stuff. All of that belonged to her parents.

Kikyo felt a wrenching twist in her stomach before she kneeled down and vomited up whatever the hell she ate last.

"You can see it all now can't you?" Kitsune spoke after Kikyo was done emptying the contents of her stomach. "The Ryugan is very overwhelming the first time around."

"You bitch!" Kikyo put as much venom in her voice as she could. "What the hell did you do to me?!" She unsheathed Hogoken and slashed angrily at the traitor she once called 'sister'.

"It's a shame really," Kitsune ignored her accusation and raised Kyuketsukitou towards the child once more. "Inheriting a sword of protection…" Kitsune came fast as lightning and hit Kikyo so hard with the hilt of Kyuketsukitou that she flew across the dojo, through the wall, and outside, slamming into a tree in the process. "…when there's nothing left to protect here."

The statement made Kikyo feel hollow inside. There really was no one left was there… Kitsune really killed everyone and Kikyo would be no exception.

No! She wouldn't let this bitch have the satisfaction! She could still fight and even if she _did_ bite the dust Kikyo would drag that traitor down into hell with her no matter what!

Kikyo swung her new sword only to have Kitsune counter and come at her from behind, striking the girl with the blunt half of the odachi.

Kikyo let out a pained gasp as she was sent flying once more like a rag doll. "You're pathetic," Kitsune said coldly. "You're pathetic and weak and how you could have ever thought you could be a shinobi is beyond belief." She slashed her sword, sending chakra through the ground and trees. "Even if you were able to survive there would be nothing left for you. Anyone that might have ever cared that you were alive is now dead."

Her swings came hard and fast, faster than she ever did whenever she would spar with Kikyo. Because of this, the girl was forced to do something that she didn't do often. She went on the defensive.

Kikyo kept Hogoken's sheath out to her front so every blow that came down would ricochet off of the barrier it created, it was all she could do to keep the sword strikes from killing her. Kitsune then came down particularly hard and the rebound pushed Kikyo backward, making her roll from the force.

The sheath slipped from her hand.

Fuck.

"Shit!" she cursed as she fumbled to get the sheath. Of all the times for her hand to slip, now would have been the worst! Suddenly Kikyo felt a foot on her back as it pushed her forward. "Gyaah!"

"You left your back open again, Kikyo." Kitsune shook her head. "Honestly, you're rude, vulgar, disrespectful, you don't listen to a thing your superiors tell you, any friends you've made were because they were _forced_ to be around you… you're just a waste of flesh that doesn't deserve to be a person, let alone a ninja."

Kikyo clenched her jaw and swallowed a lump in her throat. After everything, it still stung to hear those words come from the person she used to admire more than everyone else. But instead of dwelling on this Kikyo pulled herself together. "Go to hell you traitorous bitch." That earned her another kick to the gut. "Gyaah!" Blood escaped from her mouth and she flew and crashed against the ground.

"You're useless, pathetic, there's no way in hell a weakling like yourself would ever be allowed to carry on."

Kikyo could feel something warm leaking from her eyes as her vision _finally_ reverted back to normal. She raised her sleeve and wipe the red liquid from her eye.

"You overused your Ryugan." She was informed.

Her Ryugan…?! T-that was her Ryugan?

Kikyo tried to stand again but her body collapsed painfully to the ground. Oh god, everything hurt like crazy! Her entire body ached, her chest felt like Hanji did a tap dance on it, her back was bruised all to hell, and her eyes were still burning like someone shad set them on fire!

She looked up with a hateful scowl to see not even a drop of sweat was on Kitsune's forehead and her hope washed down the drain like it were water. Kikyo's body was battered and her heart was broken, Kitsune was going to kill her then and there and there was nothing Kikyo could do about it.

The eight year old swallowed the lump in her throat and watched the teen stare her down with those cold, purple eyes.

"You realize now how weak you are? Now you're just waiting for me to finish the job now aren't you?" Kitsune narrowed her eyes. "You're waiting for me to kill you now." She raised Kyuketsukitou over her head and from the tip sprouted multiple bolts of lightning. The lightning shot out and encircled Kikyo as though it were placing her in a cage. The bolts hit the ground and she could feel the heat coming off of them as they made impact. If the sight weren't so terrifying it would have been an amazing sight to see. Kikyo's eyes shot back to where Kitsune was a second ago only to find empty space occupying the area.

"That's too bad," a voice said from behind her. "Because the weak don't get to choose how they die. _Ryu no Shirushi_!"

A Horrible, excruciating, agonizing, burning pain shot into Kikyo from the center of her back.

The last thing the girl heard before passing out from the pain was the sound of her own ear-piercing screams.


	6. What Remains

**"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever."**

 **-Winnie the Pooh**

Kikyo's eyes fluttered in her semi-conscious state. Where was she? What happened? Wha—

Pain.

There was pain _everywhere_.

The burning!

It started in the center of her back and creeped to every single part of her body!

Oh god it hurt!

Why was it hurting like this?! Her muscles contracted and the pillow her face was in almost instantly became drenched in sweat from the heat. She was dead. That had to be the only explanation. She was dead and had been sent to hell because she let everyone else die and because she was a bad person.

It took all of the eight year old's strength to be able to prop herself up on her elbows before carefully rolling to sit up. Between the pained gasps that were her breath Kikyo observed the room she was in. She was in a hospital room. The young girl's eyes scanned the room and found numerous objects by her bed. Stuffed animals, flowers, balloons, and handmade cards, obviously made by children, surrounding the bed.

What was going on?!

Then she remembered. She wasn't dead or in hell, she had survived. But why? Why would she be so special? Kikyo's hands trembled even more. Was she the only one left? Was she really the last of her clan? The eight year old could feel tears welling up behind her eyelids before she stuffed them back down. Why? Why did everything have to hurt _so much_? Not just her body, but her chest felt like someone had just reached in with their hand and gave her heart a good squeeze, leaving it damaged and weak.

What could she do? What was there left to do? Kikyo didn't have much hope for anything anymore. Everyone else was dead. Her mother, her father, everyone. For a split second she considered checking under the mattress or behind some of the bedside furniture, bored shinobi tend to hide weapons and draw on the walls when recovering. Before she could actually move Kikyo wanted to slap herself. How could she even think of something like that? A terrible spasm shot through her whole body, making her feel like she was being electrocuted.

But oh god it _hurt_!

But to take such a cowardly way out, She wouldn't be able to face her parents again in the afterlife even if she _were_ able to go through with it.

But oh god it all just hurt so much and she wanted it to end!

The girl looked down at her bandaged and trembling hands, wishing all of this would just… go away. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration and felt that it was very uneven and some parts were charred black at the ends.

There was a soft knock on the door and Kikyo considered yelling for whichever doctor or nurse it was to just _leave her alone_ because she didn't feel like dealing with their bullshit right now. The door opened and two adults stepped in. Kikyo's lip trembled ever so slightly.

"O-Oji? Tomoe?" Her eyes welled up again and she had to force back down just like she was supposed to. They were okay, they were really okay! D-did this mean it was all just a bad dream? A genjutsu? Was everyone really okay and this was all just a bad joke?

"Hi Kiddo, how are you doing?" Bakuryuu gave his niece a somewhat sad smile that was nowhere as bright as his smiles normally were. That's when Kikyo realized that she was stupid to think otherwise. They were still all gone.

"How many are left?" Kikyo dared not look up as her uncle sat on the bed beside her.

"Kikyo," Oji said sympathetically as he brushed some charred hair from her face. "Don't think about that kind of depressing stuff right now. Just worry about getting better, Sweety."

"Tomoe?" She finally gazed up, knowing _she_ wouldn't hold back the truth just to spare her feelings.

The dark haired kunoichi sighed, looking very tired. "We're all that's left of the actual clan if you don't include Bakuryuu's children."

"Tomoe!" Bakuryuu scolded.

"So, Papa and Mama…" It was getting harder and harder to push it down. Kikyo's entire body shook and her uncle gently wrapped his arms around her, very careful not to touch her back but to still give his support.

"It's okay Kikyo, you can let it out." He petted her hair and pulled her into his chest.

"I-I c-can't! P-P-Papa told me never to because-because," She buried her face in her uncle's shirt. "It doesn't help anyone." Her voice cracked.

"You know, I love my brother, but sometimes he can be a real jerk about things." Bakuryuu rubbed the back of her head. "It's okay Kikyo."

"One of the greatest shinobi I ever knew used to cry," Tomoe noted. "He saved the lives of loved comrades and was considered a hero. There's no shame in shedding tears over those you've lost."

That was all the eight year old needed hear before gripping her uncle's shirt and sobbing into it. She was glad they were there, she really was. Her uncle's arms felt strong and she felt so small, but… they weren't the arms she wanted. She wanted her father. "P-Papa…" She didn't mean to sound s child-like, but it just slipped out.

"It's going to be okay, Kikyo." Bakuryuu petted her some more as her grip tightened on his tear stained shirt. "We're still here, we got you Sweety."

"No! It won't be okay!" she shouted through teary eyes. "They're all dead! Don't you get it?!"

"We're still here Kikyo. You still have us," he told her in a soothing tone. "You're not alone sweety."

Why? Why _were_ they still there? Why hadn't they been killed too? Kikyo couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of resentment as she continued to cry her eyes out. It wasn't fair! Why did they get to live? How come Oji got to carry on? Why did Hotaru get to keep her father when Kikyo's was gone forever? It just wasn't fair!

No! She should be grateful. Grateful that there was _someone_ left and grateful that she wasn't completely alone for the time being.

"What's happened to us?" she asked almost pitifully.

"I don't know Kikyo, I just don't know." He kissed the top of the child's head. He squeezed her tighter and a sudden, painful electric pain shot throughout her entire body.

"Kyaah!" She instantly pushed her uncle away and her body began going into painful spasms.

"Kikyo! What's wrong?!" Bakuryuu went into an absolute panic mode, scrabbling to do whatever he could to relieve her pain. "Gah! What do I do-what do I do-what do I do?!"

Tomoe then proved to be the most helpful person in the room as she beat Bakuryuu over the head. "You're not helping you idiot! Go and check on your brats and give them an update. Be sure to tell Inoue that she's awake so she quits nit-picking every fucking thing! It she tries to flatten my hair _one more time_ …!"

"I-I'll go tell them she's awake!" He pointed nervously and bolted out of the room.

"God, I feel sorry for him sometimes. But then I remember _he's_ the one that married _her_."

"T-Tomoe." Kikyo tried to speak through the pain. It felt like someone was digging into her back with a white hot knife. "Make it stop."

Tomoe reached down and her hand hovered over the girl's back before gently placing it on the center. Even through the bandages and hospital gown Kikyo could feel how cold Tomoe's hand felt in comparison to her own skin. The kunoichi just added a tiny bit more pressure and it felt like she was branding the girl. "Kyaaaah! Stop that!" she screamed desperately.

Tomoe released her and bent down so she could speak face to face with the tortured girl. "Kikyo, do you know what was done to you?"

"I-I—" She didn't she had no clue and the fever wasn't helping her to think. "S-she was there and then she wasn't and suddenly there was this-this cage, it looked like it was made of lightning, and then she said something and then…" she flinched at the memory. "I woke up here." Tears welled up again in her eyes.

"What she did to you is Kyuketsukitou's finishing move, Idaina Ryu. It takes the affinity of the user and creates pillars with it to surround the target and traps them inside, then the wielder strikes through, concentrating most of the power of the pillars into a single strike that covers the target and sears the Ryu no Shirushi into their skin. I remember the first time I used it." Her eyes became misty with nostalgia. "My target was screaming in pain even after his heart stopped."

"Does that mean it _is_ going to kill me? Just slowly?" Unbelievable. Just, unbelievable.

"Oh no, if it was going to kill you you'd already be long since dead." Tomoe corrected her. "But with the magnitude of the attacks I gotta say kid, I'm a little impressed you're still kicking."

"Gee, thanks for the compliment." Kikyo cringed again. "There's no way to fix it is there?"

Tomoe shook her head. "Not that I know of."

"Great, just great."

The next few days were the worst of Kikyo's life. Not once did she leave her hospital bed, not that she could, and every waking moment was filled with a horrible, crippling pain. But at least that was better than whenever she could actually sleep. Whenever she shut her eyes, the girl's mind was filled with terrible images of that evening.

"…Kikyo…Kikyo? Kiiiiikkyo~"

"Naruto, shush, she's sleeping! We're not even—"

"What are you two doing here?" Kikyo opened her eyes and lifted her head off her pillow. She hadn't seen anyone besides Bakuryuu, Tomoe, and Inoue came in a few times, but those were the only people the girl had seen besides the doctors since waking up.

Naruto held his finger up to his mouth as though he _wasn't_ the one making the most noise. "The grown-ups wouldn't let us come in so we snuck in to see you. Dattebayo!" He wore a mischievous grin.

"No thanks." Kikyo didn't feel like talking to anyone. She just buried her face back into her pillow.

"Hey! Come on! We came here just for you! Dattebayo!"

Kikyo continued to ignore the loud blonde and pulled her blanket up higher.

"Naruto, I told this wasn't a good idea. Daddy said Kikyo's hurt real bad," Hotaru said in a sad voice.

"But—" Naruto's voice went from angry and determined to upset. "Sasuke doesn't want to talk to us either…"

Kikyo turned her head on the pillow to look at the other two. "Why doesn't Sasuke want to talk to you?" She didn't have the energy to spare a snarky remark, hard to believe but true.

"D-don't you know?" Hotaru looked at her sympathetically and it made Kikyo want to throw something at her. "Sasuke, h-his family is gone too. It happened at the same time as…" she trailed off.

"I…why didn't anyone tell me this?" Kikyo felt betrayed.

"Probably because they didn't want to upset you anymore. You're still really hurt." Hotaru eyed all of Kikyo's bandages.

"It doesn't matter, I have a right to know." Kikyo hid her face once more. "I wanna be left alone." She didn't hear them leave but when she lifted her head once more she was all alone again.

"Okay Runt." Tomoe barged in a few hours later. "Let's change your bandages."

"You don't have to do that," Kikyo muttered.

"Quit being so stupid and strip already." Tomoe slipped some gloves on her hands and pulled several bundles of bandages.

"Shouldn't an actual doctor or nurse be doing this?" Kikyo asked in a monotone.

"Oi, I know exactly what the fuck I'm doing thank you very much. Not only do I have medical training—"

"To be a tracker."

"—But I'm also the best person to take care of any wound Kyuketsukitou can dish out. I know that sword and what it's capable of inside and out."

"You only learned medicine so you can _kill_ people more efficiently."

"Oh shut up and come here you little runt." Tomoe pulled up a wobble chair next to a table and motioned for the girl to move over to her.

The little brunette muttered curse words as she cautiously turned her blanket over and slow turned until the cold ground under her feet. First she put weight down on her right foot, it felt kind of weak and unsteady, but after popping her ankle she was able to ease her full weight onto it. Next came the left, she repeated the slow, careful process, thankful that Tomoe was being patient and quietly waiting for the girl to come to her. Kikyo finally stood on her own two feet and took a step.

Pain.

A burning pain shot from her left leg as she bent it and sent her into a painful flare. As soon as the pain hit she collapsed onto the ground and went into shaky spasms.

"Gaaahh!" Her fever shot up and she began to tremble. She-she couldn't even walk anymore! How was she ever going to be a shinobi one day if she couldn't even _walk_!

"Well, that sucks." Tadashi Tomoe everyone, number one sympathetic relative. "Come on." Tomoe grabbed Kikyo's under arm and pulled her back up.

"Wh-what the hell _is_ this?!" Kikyo just couldn't understand where all of this pain was coming from!

"I'll show you." Tomoe helped Kikyo remove her bandages and what the girl saw made her feel sick to her stomach. On her back, no, not just her back but down her leg and wrapped around both arms was a dragon. Its tongue rapping around her left arm almost to her forearm and its long horn stretched along the back of her right arm to her elbow. The dragon's arms looked as though they were gripping at her left side as the rest of it twisted from her right side over her bottom down her hip and coiled its tail down her left leg down to her calf. It looked more like she had been branded than just burned. The edges were a definite, bright red and it faded slightly before becoming a deeper crimson near the center of the reptile. The darkest was the eye of the dragon, which was located in the center of her upper back, it was a deep blistery red that could almost pass as a black.

Kikyo's eyes were wide as she gazed at the scorched skin that now took up a good majority of her body. "Tomoe, did the sword…?"

"Frankly I don't know how you're able to move at all." She began wrapping the girl up once more.

"Tomoe?"

"Hm?" she answered but was still keeping her focus on the bandaging as to not disturb the wound further than it already was.

"Is this ever going to heal?" Looking at how bad this was gave her very little hope, but if Tomoe could just tell her everything was alright then—

"No. It's not."

Well… Kikyo looked out the window and watched her hope take a nosedive off the third story and she considered following it for a second.

"Tomoe?" Kikyo's lip trembled and she swallowed the lump in her throat. "Am I ever going to leave this hospital?"

The kunoichi continued to work on the bandages. "It's not impossible."

"Will—" She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath so she could ask her next question. "Will I ever be able to become a shinobi?" Her voice cracked.

Tomoe finally paused from her task and looked at her younger cousin. She hesitated for a moment before answering. "It's not something I would recommend with this kind of injury. You would be too exposed on the battlefield and could put not only your life in danger, but the lives of your comrades as well."

"So no." Her shoulders shook.

"In the end it's all up to you." She finished up. "We can start by learning to walk on our own."

That… didn't go so well. An entire week passed and Kikyo could barely go across her hospital room without sweating out her body weight.

"Kikyo, it's time to get ready." Inoue entered the girl's room dressed in black and carrying black clothes in her arms.

"Get ready?" she asked in an almost monotone.

"The memorial service is today," she told her niece.

"Oh yeah." Kikyo had been so preoccupied with her rehabilitation that she got distracted. Her aunt cautiously dressed her and brushed Kikyo's freshly cut hair.

"I hope it grows back quickly," she said as she tried to flatten the short locks as they stuck out in every direction. "Your hair looks like you uncle's."

"Gee, thanks."

"Oh." Inoue realized that _might_ not have been the best thing to say. "But-but don't worry, it still looks nice!"

"I don't care." Kikyo looked down.

"Alright!" Tomoe barged in, pushing a wheelchair. "I hope you're ready cause we're going!"

Kikyo spied the chair. "Tomoe, I can walk on my own."

The older brunette raised her eyebrow. "Oh really? Well, excuse the fuck—"

"Tomoe!"

"—Out of me! Please. Go on." She folded the wheelchair and slung it over her shoulder.

Kikyo gave her the best glare the injured eight year old could manage. "I will."

"Tomoe! Kikyo!" Inoue had her hands on her hips and glared at them both.

"I got this." Kikyo pushed herself up off the bed and stumbled a little as she walked across the room, feeling her burn react to her muscles moving underneath the mark.

Tomoe wore a bitchy smirk when Kikyo reached the door and her face was drenched in cold sweat. Fuck her! Kikyo did just fine… until they reached the stairs. The injured girl got down the third step when an electric shock spasmed through her body.

"I thought so." A hand grabbed the nap of her neck and yanked her backward into a chair. " _Really_ should have went for the elevator, Runt."

"I…can… handle… the… fucking stairs!" If she couldn't go down some stairs how could she expect to ever get out of that damn place!?

"Face it Runt, you can't." Kikyo clenched her jaw as her muscles spasmed once again. But-But she wanted to walk on her own! She wanted to run and jump and hit stuff! She wanted to go practice kenjutsu! She didn't want any of this! She didn't want to live in a hospital bed and sit in a wheelchair for the rest of her life! It wasn't fair! Kikyo had to choke down some tears as she had to sit down and be wheeled to the memorial service by Tomoe.

"Hey Kikyo!" Naruto waved. It was odd to see him in black instead of his ostentatious orange. "Hey Tomoe!" God that kid needed to learn the meaning of _inside voice_.

"Sup." Tomoe nodded in his direction before her eyes darted over to the Yondaime and a grey haired man he was talking to then back to the boy. "Hey Naruto, wanna push Kikyo around? I gotta go talk to your dad a minute." She offered the wheelchair and the girl shot her a dangerous look. She better fucking _not_ let that idiot push her around. She'd end up being rolled off a cliff if he was in charge of her.

"No-no-no!" she yelled up at the bitchy brunette.

"Sounds like fun! Dattebayo!"

Kikyo quickly scanned the crowd for the nearest responsible adult. The only one within earshot was Oji. Eh, close enough. "Oji help! Tomoe's trying to finish me off!"

The hyper adult's head popped up to Kikyo's plea. "What?!" He hurried over to the other three.

"I am not!"

"She was going to let _Naruto_ push me around! I would have wound up being rolled off the Hokage Monument!" Naruto was then jabbed by verbal stab wounds.

"Tomoe!" He swiped the handles from her grip and pushed the girl along.

"You know," Tomoe bent down and whispered. "Snitches get stiches."

Kikyo gave her cousin a very serious look. "I already have to deal with this burn for the rest of my life, a few stitches is nothing," Kikyo told her before letting her uncles wheel her away.

Things settled down as the memorial service began. Kikyo sat in her wheelchair with her uncle standing right behind her and Hotaru to her side. The sheer number of people that were attending was astounding. It felt like the entire village came out to pay their respects to the two fallen clans. As the ceremony went on and more and more flowers were placed by the many pictures Kikyo could feel the despair sinking in again. Her eyes grazed the Tadashi side and choked a little as her eyes passed over every messy haired individual in the photographs. When it came time to pay respects to Fugaku-san and Mikoto-san was when Kikyo finally saw Sasuke. He was paler than normal, there were dark shadows under his even darker eyes, and he wore a somewhat half-scowl as he placed white flowers by his parent's pictures. From where she was Kikyo could hear the people behind her taking pity on the boy.

 _Poor child. To see such a thing._

 _He must have been so scared._

 _He must be so lonely._

 _Just look at him, he can barely hold it together._

Kikyo want to spin around and snap at the people. There was no way in hell Sasuke would ever appreciate this kind of treatment. Being looked at like a kicked puppy, he would most likely hit someone for thinking that about him. She looked at him and saw nothing but pure rage in his black eyes.

Finally it came time for Kikyo's parents. Oji was ready to push her when the girl put her hand up to stop him. It was just to the a hundred feet away, she could make that. It was the least she could do to honor her parents. The eight year old took the white rose from her uncle as she stood and took a careful step.

 _Okay, just take it slow and easy. You can do this._

The girl took a few cautious steps before her weak ankle twisted at an awkward angle and she collapsed onto her knee, causing it to bend and the mark to begin to flare up. It wasn't even a second before she was unable to move and had broken out into a cold sweat.

"It's okay Kikyo, let me help you," Oji said kindly as he gently pulled her back into her seat and rolled her to the portraits of her parents. Even from there Kikyo could hear the people back in the rows.

 _Oh, that poor little girl._

 _How serious is it?_

 _My cousin works at the hospital, she says it covers her whole body._

 _She may not become a shinobi._

 _Forget shinobi! From the looks of it she may not walk again!_

 _That poor, poor child._

Kikyo placed the rose down and tried to hide her frustrated and humiliated tears as she said her goodbyes to her parents. She just wanted all this pain and suffering to go away! She wanted to be able to walk and run again! She wanted to go to sleep without nightmares! She wanted her mother and father back!

She just wanted all this pain to stop!

Oji was more wrong than ever.

It was never going to be okay, not ever.


	7. A Choice

**The girl who seemed unbreakable broke. The girl who always laughed, cried. The girl that never stopped trying, finally gave up. She dropped her fake smile as a tear rolled down her cheek, and she whispered to herself, "I can't do this anymore."**

 **-unknown (to me)**

"Good evening Kikyo-chan," the nurse greeted as she wheeled in a cart of food. "I've brought your dinner." She smiled and placed the food on the tray over the hospital bed.

Kikyo just nodded as a response to the woman's greeting.

"Now, you must be hungry. You hardly touched breakfast and have been working hard all day so be sure to eat as much as you can so you can keep up your strength." She smiled as she poured juice and left the girl to her plate. Kikyo stared at the food, but felt no inclination to eat any of it. What was the point? She wasn't hungry or thirsty, she just wanted to be left alone. So the eight year old stood and got out of bed, having to take the crutch that was lying next to it to prop herself up, and carried the plate to the window where she dumped most of it out for the birds to eat. She was always told that wasting food was bad, but at least this way someone would get to eat it and the doctors wouldn't be too mad at her.

Kikyo sighed before hobbling her way back to her bed and placing the crutch back at its side. She was tired and just wanted to rest. The nurse was right, she'd been working hard all day on her rehabilitation, but something was going horribly wrong. Her condition was worsening instead of improving. Before the memorial service she was getting a little bit better at moving around, she could even get down the hallway without any kind of help. One time she even got to go outside and walk around the hospital garden on her own. But now, she couldn't even support herself well enough to get across her room without some kind of assistance. It was like her body was giving up on her.

"Hi Kikyo!" Hotaru waved as she and Naruto came in like they did almost every day, bringing in that day's assignment and some sweets to snack on.

"You'll never believe what I did to Iruka-sensei! It was the most genius prank ever! Dattebayo!" Naruto snickered and went into some tale about his _hilarious_ prank. Hotaru gave him a disapproving look, but still added in certain details so the story would seem better.

Kikyo didn't feel much like listening to them and their happy, daily lives, but she nodded at certain points to make it look like she was paying attention.

"…And then Iruka-sensei's face got super red cause the whole class was there! Hahahaha!" Naruto was rolling on the ground while he laughed.

"And then Naruto got a month's worth of detention and Minato-san will probably be waiting for him when he gets home." Hotaru crossed her arms and Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, his face quickly losing color until it turned blue.

"Mmhmm." Kikyo nodded again and stared out the window.

"Hey! Let's go outside and play!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto!" Hotaru elbowed him. "Kikyo can't run around and play!" she hissed, trying her best for Kikyo not to hear her.

"Well we can carry her along too! Or-or we could take a wheelchair! What do you say Kikyo?! Sounds like fun doesn't it?!" he asked hopefully.

"You two go on. I don't feel so well."

"You don't? Should I go get a nurse or Tomoe-san or—"

"No, I just want to rest." She pulled the blanket over her head.

"Come on Kikyo!" Naruto complained.

"Goodbye." Kikyo didn't even emerge from under the covers.

The next morning her painful routine started all over again. "Okay Runt!" Tomoe practically kicked the door open like she did every morning. "Rise and fucking shine! It's a brand new fucking day so skippidy fucking doo da!"

"Well, aren't you in a lovely mood this morning?" Kikyo said in a monotone.

"You bet I fucking am now let's get going Runt!"

Tomoe sat with her when breakfast came so she couldn't dump it like she had been doing the last few days. Kikyo felt like she was going to be sick from having to eat the food that just tasted like ash in her mouth. She wished Tomoe would just leave her alone so she could rest. Well, maybe rest was too strong a word. Kikyo hadn't really _rested_ in… she couldn't even remember how long now. She would just close the curtains, turn off the lights, and lay as still as she could. That was the only time the pain wasn't so bad. Kikyo finally finished what she thought she could handle and put down her fork.

Tomoe shook her head. "All of it." She pointed.

"I'm done Tomoe," Kikyo told her.

"No, eat all of it."

"But I'm not hungry."

"I don't give a fuck." The older Tadashi narrowed her eyes. Kikyo took in a deep breath to maybe make herself look bigger. She had lost a lot of weight since awakening and was beginning to look gaunt. "Eat. The. Rest."

"Tomoe, I—"

"If you don't fucking eat it on your own then I'll shove it down your throat or better yet, I'll have the doctors give you an IV." She smirked and crossed her arms.

"Why? Why are you bothering with this?" Kikyo grumbled as she tried to eat the rest.

"Because I have nothing better to do at the moment." She gave her a bitchy sneer.

"Whatever." Tomoe's hovering couldn't last forever could it? Right? She had to move on with her own life at some point. She'd get tired of pitying the stupid, hurt little kid and try to go back to her normal routine. If she weren't such a bitch Kikyo might even advise her to go on a date or two, but what brain dead, desperate, half-wit would go out with Tomoe?

That day's physical therapy went especially disastrous. It felt like Kikyo's body had completely given up on ever moving again, could anyone really blame it though? Every wrong move, every twitch was like a switch waiting to be flipped. They were about halfway through the session when Kikyo just wanted to stop. It all hurt and burned and she just wanted some kind of peace! Anything, anything at all would do at this point!

Kikyo didn't know what to do, her body had already given up on her and her mind was beginning to agree with it. By the time she was placed back in her hospital bed she could do little more than lift her head up without yelling out in pain. She laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes.

She was running, running as fast as she could in a pitch black place. Hurry, she had to go faster before it caught her! Kikyo felt her breath become short, but she continued to sprint at her top speed until something grabbed her wrist and halted the girl in her tracks. A hand had shot out of the darkness and took hold of her with an iron grip.

"Not… safe…" a bodiless voice said from the black around her. "You're never going to be safe…" It suddenly pulled her down and without warning she was sinking in a black, dense liquid. Kikyo kicked and screamed but she was still sinking like a rock, the pressure around her pushing more and more, doing it's very best to suffocate her. Kikyo let out one more scream before she finally allowed it all to just take her.

But for just a moment, she felt a numbing peace.

Kikyo bolted upright in her bed, startled by that evening's nightmare and accidentally sent herself into another flare.

That was it!

She just couldn't do this anymore!

Kikyo finally did what she had thought of doing that first day. She searched the bed and nightstand for hidden kunai. The eight year old swallowed the lump in her throat when she found what she was looking for between the mattress and bed springs. She quickly checked the clock, it was just past eight. If she was quiet no one would come and check on her till morning and by then… Kikyo shook her head and looked back down at the kunai and wondered what would come after it was over. Would she go to heaven or hell? Was there even an afterlife to go to? Kikyo clenched her teeth, if there really wasn't anything on the other side she was completely okay with that, just as long as she didn't have to deal with any of this anymore.

Kikyo closed her eyes and her grip tightened on the abandoned weapon. Should she leave a note? No, what was the point? She didn't care if they understood why she was doing this, the dead don't have to listen to the ridicules of the living. The eight year old held the blade close to her wrist and felt the cold metal on her skin. She just had to get it deep enough, if she did that it wouldn't be long before she was gone. Her hand trembled a little and she sucked in a breath as she felt the sharp weapon break the skin and cut down into her wrist.

It seemed like it was only an instant later that something grabbed her wrist tightly and jerked, pulling her straight up in the air by the wrist, kunai pointed upward and feet dangling a ways off the floor. Her eyes widened as she looked into the eyes of the person who had grabbed her, the feeling of her warm blood oozing from the cut on her wrist completely escaping her. If she'd had the attention to listen, she might have her the quiet _drip_ as a drop of blood landed on the floor followed a moment later by another.

But all she had attention for at the moment was the person who stopped her. It was Tomoe and she was _angry_. Now, Kikyo had been pretty sure she'd seen Tomoe angry before – as bitchy and temperamental as she was, she reckoned everyone had – but it looked like she was wrong. She'd never seen Tomoe _this_ angry. _Anger_ was an understatement, fury was too. Rage seemed a bit better.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she snarled.

"I—" This was bad, Tomoe wasn't supposed to see any of this! "Well—" What was she supposed to say? She was done, she'd given up, she felt like she was drowning!

"I, well," she mocked rudely, letting the girl go without any sort of warning. "That's what I thought." She hit the ground hard, pain rattling up to her knees and sending a shockwave of pain through her body. A flare, but not a full one. Thank god.

When she fell on her ass a second later though, a full one decided to rear its fucking head.

"So you're really that big a fucking _coward_ are you?" Tomoe asked, spitting the word 'coward' out as if it were equivalent to trash, using a tone like _Kikyo_ was equivalent to trash.

Kikyo clenched her jaw and looked away. "Mind your own business Tomoe."

"Hate to break it to you kid, but you _are_ my business," she snarked.

"I am not!" Kikyo shot back. "I'm not your daughter, I sure as hell ain't your sister! We're not even that closely related! You don't have to keep coming here so leave me alone!"

Tomoe squatted down so she was at Kikyo's eye level. "Are you really such _trash_ that you've already forgotten, Runt? Tadashi look out for each other. Fuck that other shit, we're both still Tadashi and there ain't that many left to watch our backs. That makes you my business."

Kikyo's lip trembled. "I… I just wanted it all to stop hurting…" She gripped her chest. "It all just hurts. I…" Her shoulders shook. "I want my parents…"

"Oh boo hoo, your life sucks, your parents are dead. Join the fucking club. You know how many orphans there are in the village? And so what if it hurts like hell? You're just going to give the fuck up? Be a cowardly little bitch and hide from your problems instead of facing them?" She sneered. "Maybe I should let you then, rid this world of a pathetic little piece of shit that ain't good for nothing."

The words stung, but Kikyo wasn't sure she had anything to say back to that.

Despite her words, Tomoe snatched the kunai out of Kikyo's hand. "What happened to 'should just let me do it'?" she couldn't help but snark.

"You're a Tadashi," Tomoe informed her, as if she didn't already know. She kind of wanted to roll her eyes at her. "There ain't no way in hell I'm going to let you die like a little bitch using _this_ piece of trash."

She tossed the kunai across the room then, to Kikyo's surprise, reached into the pouch on her hip and withdrew one of her own. It was clean and polished, the light glinted off of it as she twirled it in her fingers then bent, swinging it down so fast and hard that all Kikyo could see was a flash of metal before it was lodged firmly in the ground in front of the girl. It cut through the wood like it was butter.

"If you're gonna die like trash, you might as well honor your family enough to not use a piece of shit to do it." But then her face grew deadly serious and cold and she stared Kikyo right in the eye. "So go on, prove your sister right. You're just a pathetic little piece of shit that isn't even worth getting blood on her _shoes_ much less her hands."

Kikyo didn't expect her to actually _let_ her, but Tomoe really did release the kunai and stand up, turning her back on the kid. She walked to the door without another sound and grabbed the doorknob. The girl hadn't expected that to be so heartbreaking, hadn't known anything else could be. But here was the last person who was really straight with her, that told the truth, and she… even Tomoe didn't think she was worth it…

She pulled the door open but paused and glanced over her shoulder at the girl who still sat, stunned and heartbroken, on the ground. Tomoe didn't look angry anymore, just sad. Really sad. "For the record," she said, as if this might just be the last thing she ever said to Kikyo, and it just might be, "I thought you could make it." And then, just like that, she was gone.

Kikyo sobbed into her good hand. How could Tomoe just go around after encouraging her to do this and then go and say something like that?! Of course she couldn't make it! What kind of idiot makes a gamble like that?! She gazed down and clenched her fist, blood was still dripping from her wrist from her previous attempt. It would be all too easy just to finish it then and there and no one would be the wiser. After all, she was nothing but trash, she was rude, vulgar, and no one _really_ liked her because she was a little bitch. The only reason Hotaru and Naruto came near her was because they _had_ to.

Kikyo picked up the shiny kunai. Even if she didn't do it and just put it away, what would happen to her? She couldn't become a shinobi, not how she was now, and at this point she didn't even really want to stay in the village anymore because it was filled to the brim with memories, memories that she would much rather forget. The girl gazed at the kunai before bringing it close to her wrist. Desperate tears streamed down her face. Did she really want to do this and leave nothing behind? Her hand trembled as she slowly pulled the kunai away from her wrist.

Maybe… maybe she could try to live, just a little bit longer. Maybe she could leave something behind worth remembering before she died. Kikyo stood up and wiped her tears away before she pulled some bandages from the bedside table and wrapped her wrist. The cut wasn't very deep, but it would most likely scar. Kikyo sighed and shook her head before climbing back into the bed, hiding the shiny kunai under her pillows before drifting off to sleep.

Just in case.

 **Before you hate Tomoe, please read the following excerpt from BeadleJuice's as of yet unpublished story following Tomoe:**

Tomoe was a horrible person. She had to be if she could say all of that in such a serious, harsh tone to an _eight year old_. Oh god, that's right. Kikyo was only _eight years old_. That's younger than Hayate had been when he'd…

No, she didn't want to make herself feel fucking worse.

So she took a deep, silent breath and turned the knob, opening the door. But she couldn't leave it like this. She was such a pathetic failure… but maybe there was a chance? Even if it was just a little bitty one…

She looked over her shoulder at Kikyo sitting on the floor, gaping at her with a face full of disbelieving heartbreak. That cinched it, Tomoe was the most despicable person that had ever drawn breath. She was the only person left that that little girl felt like she could trust and she'd just basically told her to kill herself! What the hell was the matter with her?! So what if she didn't mean it quite that way, that's still what the kid heard! Of course it was!

So she swallowed the lump in her throat and told the girl what she really and desperately hoped were not the last words she'd ever be able to say to her, "For the record, I thought you could make it."

And then she'd stepped through the door and closed it.

She didn't go far, she never did, but this time… This time she didn't even get a step from the door. She sank silently to the ground and settled her head between her knees. She was a horrible, despicable person. A horrible, despicable failure of a piece of trash. Even at eight, Kikyo was still _so much better_ than she was, how could she not see that? How could she think that she didn't deserve to live when Tomoe did?

Tears stung her eyes.

 _And now I'm turning into a pathetic little pussy. I'm just an all around failure of a person, aren't I?_

She leaned her head back against the door, not bothering to suck the tears in because she just felt like total shit and she knew that no one would be in this hallway for at least another hour. She'd long since memorized the hospital's routines by now. Tears dripped slowly down her cheeks and she squeezed her eyes shut, feeling like she was eight years old herself. Yeah, she hadn't felt this little and pathetic since she was around Kikyo's age, hiding in her room from her father's disappointed anger.

But she didn't want to think about that now. She felt shitty enough, thanks. So she closed her eyes so tight she didn't know if she would ever open them again and listened desperately to what was going on inside the room.

 _Come on, Kikyo. Don't let me fail at this too. I don't know if I could take that…_

She listened desperately, terrified that her harsh words had swayed the girl more than her final statement, more than her feelings, more than her efforts up to this point. For a horrible moment, she thought they had, but then she heard movement inside. She heard Kikyo stand and walk a few steps. She heard rustling fabric and a _scritch_ sound like bandages being torn harshly because one didn't have a pair of scissors on hand (as if that kunai wouldn't have worked well enough, brat!) and then more rustling fabric as Kikyo presumably got in the bed.

Tomoe didn't think she'd ever felt so relieved in her entire life. Her entire body relaxed, some knots in her shoulders undoing themselves. A breath she hadn't know she'd been holding slipped free from her mouth and she let her whole weight lean into the door, the desperate tears turning to relieved ones.

The one thing she hadn't screwed all to hell. Ironically enough, it was a pep talk.

 **Little harder to hate her now, ain't it?**


	8. A Reason to Live

**Merry Christmas and happy birthday to Kikyo!**

"Kikyo-chan, it's time to get up, Kikyo-chan." Kikyo jumped up at the unnatural awakening and scanned the room to see who the hell had the nerve. "Good morning, Kikyo-chan." A nurse was kneeling by the girl and smiling. "It's time for breakfast." She placed a tray of breakfast food on her bed stand.

"What happened to Tomoe?" Not that she really _wanted_ Tomoe there, but it was just _weird_ to wake up without someone screaming profanities.

"Tomoe-san isn't here today so the doctor instructed me to tend to you today."

"I see…" So Tomoe had finally had enough of the little piece of trash. Kikyo wondered if she was at her home, just waiting to get the news that Kikyo had improved their lives by ending her own. Kikyo could almost see her shaking her head and saying that she saw it coming a mile away and possibly toast later on today at her regained freedom from the little wounded piece of shit she had obligated herself to look after.

The nurse began checking her vitals and taking notes on her current condition. "How are you feeling today, Kikyo-chan?" God, Kikyo was _so sick_ of hearing that!

"Fine." She ground her teeth.

"It seems you're still running a pretty high temperature, considering we've already used a wide variety of medications I don't know if we can…"

"Don't worry about it."

"But Kikyo-chan, it's not safe for one's temperature to remain this high."

"Well it just sucks to be me, now doesn't it?" she snapped and shot the nurse a glare. Instead of yelling or scolding her like a normal person _should_ have done, she just gave the girl a look similar to one that a person gives a dying animal. Son of a bitch! She didn't want anyone's damn pity!

"I'll leave you to your breakfast, Kikyo-chan. When you're done call someone and we'll wheel you into therapy. Okay?"

"Okay." Kikyo watched the nurse leave and shut the door. "Fuck you," she grumbled and threw her breakfast out the window. Kikyo curled back up in her bed, pulling the covers high over her head and pretended that there was nothing going on around her at all.

She must have been laying there for quite some time because eventually she heard her door open once more and footsteps approach her. "Kikyo-chan?" It was the voice of Dr. Takahata whom had been overlooking her physical therapy. "Are you not going to therapy today?" he asked.

"No." What was the point? It wasn't helping any. She couldn't _do_ anything. She couldn't even leave the damn hospital without someone pushing her in a wheelchair!

"Are you not feeling well?"

"No."

"No you're not feeling well or no that's not what's wrong?" Dumbass.

"What the hell do you think it is?" she asked from under her covers. "Leave me alone."

"Kikyo-chan, is this tantrum because Tomoe-san isn't here?" Oh, he did _not_ just call this a tantrum! It was a bitch fit thank you very much! "Tomoe-san's been here very diligently and just went home to get some rest. When she comes back don't you want to show her how much progress you've made?"

"No! No I don't!" She didn't care if she ever saw that bitch ever again! Why did that stupid bitch have to interfere yesterday?! Why couldn't she just let Kikyo end it all then and there?! But no! She _had_ to make a scene and she just _had_ to make Kikyo think about it! If not for her then Kikyo wouldn't be feeling any of this right now!

"Kikyo—"

"Now go away! I don't want you here! I don't want anyone here!" She threw one of her school books that were on the bedside table at the doctor.

"Kikyo-chan, please calm down or—"

"Or what?! You'll sedate me?! You've already used every god damned drug on this earth to try and fix my broken ass but all of it's just gone to shit!" She stood out of bed and continued to throw objects at the doctor. "I'm sick and tired of this hospital! I'm sick and tired of your shit therapy! I'm sick and tired of you! And I'm sick and tired of my fucking life right now!" He had finally backed out enough that Kikyo had been able to slam the door in his face and wedged a chair against it so that no one else could get in and bother her.

She could hear someone fiddling with the door. "Kikyo-chan, please open the door."

"Go to hell and leave me alone." She crawled back into her bed and pulled her knees into her chest.

"Do I need to call your uncle?"

"By all means." Like Oji could do anything to stop her.

"Very well, I will." She heard his footsteps descend down the hallway.

Kikyo rolled her eyes and laid back down in the bed. Both hands were under her pillow and gripping the cold kunai with all her strength. It wasn't too late, she could still do it. All it would take was one good cut and probably not even that considering how sharp the kunai was. Kikyo knew she promised herself that she would try to live, but what good was that doing for anyone? Even by some miracle she got through this what would become of her? Would she spend the rest of her life living in the hospital? Or would she one day be well enough to be able to live on her own and just have to wheel herself everywhere she went? What good would she be then? She couldn't be a shinobi so she would have to live off of her inheritance until she succumb to the Curse and who the hell knew when that would be?

Part of her wished it would come right there and then.

Kikyo fiddled with the kunai in her hand, thinking this over. With her current health the Curse couldn't be too far behind right? Maybe then Tomoe wouldn't spit on her grave and call her weak trash because she technically didn't end her own life. Then again, it wouldn't surprise her if Tomoe did it anyway considering how lowly the kunoichi thought of the girl.

Kikyo wanted to cry, to scream, to shout! She wanted all of this to be over and for all these feelings to go away! She was so tired of being looked at like a failure and a wounded animal! She wished she could show them all that they didn't have to look at her that way. That she could be strong! But that was never going to happen, not without a miracle.

"Kikyo." She heard Oji tapping on her door. "Can you let me in?"

"No," she said in the blandest tone possible. Seriously Oji? You're a ninja for god's sake.

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty—"

"Oji, I'm not Hotaru. You can't just say pretty please and offer dango to get me to open up."

"… Would you _like_ some dango—"

"No I do not want dango!" she snapped. "Just go away, Oji." She sat up and pulled her knees into her chest.

"Oh Kikyo, honey." She heard Oji walk away from the door.

She knew what the white haired shinobi would do before he even did it which made it no surprise when she saw him sitting on the wall outside her window picking the lock. He wore a big, goofy, triumphant grin when the lock clicked and he sat on the edge. From his squatting position the shinobi had both hands on the sides of the window frame, whether this was to keep his clumsy ass from slipping out or Kikyo from pushing him she didn't know.

He continued to grin like breaking into the hospital room of a near suicidal eight year old was a big, praise worthy accomplishment. Kikyo personally would have preferred to break down the door, but Oji probably didn't want to pay collateral. "Hey kiddo." Kikyo could see the pity in his eyes and it infuriated her! "You okay? Wanna talk about it?" No! She fucking did not!

Kikyo ground her teeth, but was able to quickly devise a plan to get rid of her uncle. The eight year old got out of bed and walked to her uncle. "Oji?" She rubbed her eye and sniffed once.

"What is it, Honey?" He looked almost pitiful.

Kikyo held out her arms to her uncle and he practically squealed.

"Oh Sweety! It's okay, come on! Oji's here!" He held his arms out wide and smiled brightly, waiting for his niece to jump into his arms.

Kikyo use all her strength to push the once balancing man out the window, sending him face first into the ground below and slamming the window behind her. "Sorry Oji." She wore a sad smile as she set the latch once more.

Kikyo wasn't stupid, she knew she couldn't do this forever and she knew sooner or later someone would either bust through the window or kick open the door. She was actually a little surprised they hadn't already. But she just couldn't help herself! She just wanted to be alone and think without people coming in and pretending they cared about her or pretending like they could make all her pain go away! It wouldn't ever go away, that was clear, and Kikyo wanted time to think about what she should do about all this going on around her. Things would be so much easier if she could just end it and be done. That way everyone else could get on with their lives and Kikyo could finally rest through the night peacefully. There was even a little hope in the back of her mind, very _very_ little, that there was an afterlife that would allow her to see her parents again.

"What are you doing?! That's not her room!" Kikyo finally heard after a period of silence in the hallway. So, they were sending in the next shmuck to be hurled down into the dirt. Kikyo spied what weapons she had left in the room to chuck, there was her IV stand-better to save that in case someone actually made it in, several school books, a chair, and her end table. Hm, if whoever showed up looked strong she could use the end table- that would definitely knock them out of the room.

Kikyo's eyes widened and her fists shook at the person whom was quickly able to pick the lock on her window. "What the fuck are you doing here?!" She swallowed the lump in her throat as she continued to yell at the dark haired kunoichi. "Decide you were too impatient to let me do it?! Well fuck you!" she threw that end table as hard as her damaged body would allow her, hoping it would hit Tomoe in the face and do her _some_ kind of harm.

Tomoe ignored her shouting and caught the end table with so little effort that Kikyo wanted to cry. She stepped in and flipped the table over and sat it upright on the floor before grabbing the eight year old by the hair and jerking her back into bed. She slid the table back to its proper place with her foot and put a plate of food down on it. "Eat," she ordered. "Or I will shove it down your fucking throat."

"I don't have to fucking listen to you!" H-how _dare_ she pretend to care again after what she told Kikyo to do?! Did someone _make_ her come back here?!

"Fine." Tomoe grabbed her by the hair again and reached for the food.

No! Let her go! "Fine! Fine! I'll eat! Fucking bitch." Kikyo slowly took a few bites, if Tomoe was hoping to go quickly then Kikyo wouldn't give her the satisfaction. The girl continued until she though that she might get sick, still leaving about half a plate, but she just didn't have any appetite anymore. "There. Happy?" she asked sarcastically.

"Nope." Of course not. _Nothing_ could ever make Tomoe happy. Tomoe then threw down a bag onto the bed next to the girl, Kikyo eyes the thing cautiously. What was that mega-bitch going to do to her?

Tomoe reached in and pulled out a shot glass and set it on the table beside the eight year old's half-eaten food. Then she pulled out a bottle of alcohol and poured a tiny bit into it, about half an ounce. Was she going to do shots right there in the room with Kikyo there? What was the point in doing this? With a sigh, she knocked the bag off the bed and took a seat, leaning her back against the wall and taking a drink straight from the bottle. The hell?! "Drink it. Don't worry, it's lightweight shit."

Kikyo stared at the glass with a look of confused caution. What was Tomoe thinking?! D-did she really just give an eight year old a shot glass with liquor in it?! No, no one was _that_ stupid right? Not even Oji. So why… Sh-she wasn't trying to poison her and get it all over with was she?

"What do you think I did?" Tomoe eyed her curiously. "Poisoned it?" Yes. "Newsflash, runt, _poison won't work on you_." She jerked her chin. "Now drink up, it'll take the edge off."

"Why are you here?" Kikyo asked, looking up from the glass to glare at Tomoe. "Why are you doing this? You made your feelings perfectly fucking clear last night!" Kikyo bit the inside of her cheeks to keep the heartbroken tears from welling up. She thought Tomoe was strong and cool!-Not that she'd ever tell _her_ that, and she kind of wanted to be like Tomoe, but obviously Tomoe thought different of her.

Tomoe took a long drink from her bottle and sighed. "I didn't mean that how it sounded," she told the girl quietly. "Kikyo…"

"What?" the girl snapped, feeling so hurt and betrayed.

Tomoe let out a groan and just leaned against the wall for the longest time. It kinda looked like she went to sleep and Kikyo wondered for a moment if she could survive a possible escape through the window or maybe out into the hall.

Kikyo was halfway through a possible strategy when Tomoe finally spoke up. "When I was just a little older than you, I thought the world was falling apart all around me."

Really?! She was going to pretend she knew what Kikyo was going through?! "Are you really trying to compare _anything_ that's happened to _you_ to what _I'm_ going through?!" Even if they didn't get along, Tomoe had her father until recently and she was this big, strong, war hero whom everyone looked up to! Kitsune certainly did at least.

Tomoe sighed again and for just a moment she looked older than any other Tadashi Kikyo had ever seen. "Kikyo, I want you to think about it. Yeah, you've lost a lot of people. Yeah, you feel like you're all alone in the world… But you're not the only fucking little bitch that's ever felt that way. I fought in a _war_ , Kikyo. I was on the front lines when I was your age. Do you really think for one fucking second that I haven't lost anything?! Do you not even fucking realize that that was my fucking family too?!"

"Was your _sister_ the one to do it?!"

"No, but I did have a lot of turncoats hit a little too close to fucking home." How dare she compare that to this?! Some of her comrades may have been traitorous, but she didn't grow up with them! They didn't help raise her or play with her or train her or took her anywhere she wanted to go or-or she didn't look up to them! Tomoe sighed and smirked a little after her statement. "Though I guess I have to give you that damn scar. I can't imagine what it must be like to have it."

"Thanks," the girl snarked back at the woman.

"I didn't mean to get into a pissing contest on whose life sucks more." Tomoe sighed for, like, the billionth time since entering the room. "I want to tell you a story." Kikyo sat there and waited, the shot glass still in her hand. "When I was a few years older than you, I got my first opportunity to take the jounin exam."

"Oh great. This is going to be one of those 'Tomoe is awesome' stories, isn't it?" She should have known better! Like she hadn't heard enough of these over the years! The great war hero Tomoe saves the lives of dozens of her comrades with one arm tied behind her back! Whoopy fucking doo.

"No." The woman's voice was grave.

"But you passed the jonin exam." Kikyo rolled her eyes, glad that action didn't hurt. "You're just looking for an excuse to brag."

"I didn't pass my first one," Tomoe snapped. She growled quietly, opening her eyes. "Will you just shut the fuck up and listen for once? Bitch about it when I'm done."

Kikyo huffed. "Fine." She'd throw the shot glass if this was just a glory story.

"Good." Tome settled in for her story. "When I was thirteen, I took the jounin exam for the first time. The task I was assigned for the final part of the exam was to track and assassinate a man by the name of Mibu Sentomaru, a B-Rank ninja from a little village that got wiped out a while back. I was excited, had picked this enemy myself because his clan and ours had a little history. See, the Mibu Clan had been abducting shinobi a couple years before and experimenting on them. This had included Tadashi. So our clan sent someone – my father actually – to wipe them out. But Sentomaru was, reportedly, absent at that time. And, as tracking him down was not something Konoha or the clan could allow the resources to do, he was given a bounty and an upgraded bingo-book page.

"But my father made a mistake. The man I tracked down for my test was not the B-Ranked Sentomaru, but his S-Ranked older brother Sanosuke. When I fought him… I couldn't keep up. I was no match. He caught me, eluded Kushina-san who was acting as my proctor, and took me to a testing facility. His intention was to use me as a lab rat to test a poison he'd invented for Tadashi that would work by attacking the lungs harshly enough to activate the Curse."

Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Which _obviously_ didn't work." Seriously, Tomoe _just_ stated that poison didn't work on Tadashi.

"Oh no, it worked." What? "Well, I don't have _practical_ proof, but the theory is perfectly sound and the forensics unit declared it to be a true statement."

"But you're not dead." Kikyo pieced it all together. "Oh, let me guess, you kicked his ass before he got a chance to use it?" Sounded very Tomoe.

Tome did something Kikyo never saw her do before, she shuddered. To shake it off the kunoichi took another swig of booze. "No, not even close. He toyed with me first. Removed my eyes to replace the ones he'd somehow lost. He did it in the most excruciating way possible. It took a _team_ of our most accomplished medics to put them back in afterwards, and that was agonizing as well. I…" She sighed then shook her head. "Anyway, after he took my eyes he carted me off somewhere… I guess it was some kind of gas chamber. He meant to test the poison on me, but… My rescue team had just arrived. I-I didn't even know it, but… And then… One member of the team," she began again, "found me in that room just before the gas went off. He… He had brought a gas mask, but elected to remove it and put it on me… He took a gas that was designed to _kill_ a _Tadashi_ over me…" She shook her head. "No matter what anyone says, that was on me." She took another drink. "At first when I got home, I was getting a few kicked-puppy looks. Well except from Dear Old Dad who decided I was a poor excuse for a ninja who had acted with nothing but childish foolishness and didn't care who heard him yell that at me.

"Soon after, everyone else seemed to join in, but they were more subtle about it at least. Not that anyone was surprised. Fuck up Tomoe had fucked up again." She shook her head. "It was only about a week later that my best friend died. The kicked-puppy pity came back for a while, but soon enough they decided I hadn't coped _correctly_ and I was taking _too long_ and all that kicked puppy pity turned into patronizing condemnation."

"Oh." None of this sounded like the Tomoe Kikyo knew. Tomoe was always so confident in everything she did and didn't give a shit about what others said about her. Was it really possible that Tomoe had gone through all of that in the span of just a few weeks? Do people really turn on you that fast?

"It'll happen to you too, you know." Kikyo's head shot back up to the kunoichi. "Once they decide you've had enough time to heal – and you won't heal from that grief, not really – they'll start treating you like a pitiful failure." That made a rock drop in Kikyo's stomach. "They'll look down their noses at your pain as if you're beneath them. And for a while, you'll wonder if you are. What I mean is that if you're hoping for things to get better, they won't. They'll get worse. And fucking worse until you'll be looking at that kunai, wondering if you made a mistake that needs correcting. Every time it'll get a little harder… And I honestly won't blame you if you decide to end it. Hell, I wouldn't blame you if you had last night. I don't know if _I_ would have been strong enough to choose a life as hard and painful as yours is going to be. Gotta say, Kikyo, it's admirable."

She watched in awe as Tomoe took another swig. D-did Tomoe just call her admirable?

"You must be drunk," Kikyo announced. There's no way Tomoe would _ever_ compliment her sober.

Tomoe snorted and laughed again, like, _really_ laughed. Weird. Yup, _totally_ drunk. "Maybe a little, but I meant it." She put a hand on Kikyo's head. "Now are you going to drink that or not? Trust me, it'll take the edge off." S-she really meant it? That made Kikyo feel better, just a little bit.

Slowly, Kikyo picked the glass up. But she just held it in her hand and stared at it, thinking about everything Tomoe had just told her. "Hey Tomoe?"

"Hm?" The kunoichi seemed a little out of it.

"If life is really so hard and if it's really only going to get worse… why shouldn't I…?" She gripped the glass tighter to keep from reaching under her pillow.

"I don't know if you're at a point to really understand the whole thing, but… let's just say that moments come along from time to time. They tend to be short and fleeting, but they… they make all the pain and suffering worth it, just a little. Sometimes a lot." What in the world could possibly make all this worth it? What was there left to enjoy considering everything was gone?

"Well if you can't really explain it, give me an example." She really wanted to know what to look out for.

"I didn't say I couldn't explain it, I said you couldn't understand it." She poked Kikyo's forehead. "And I am not nearly drunk enough to tell you about those. Sorry." What the…? "Now take a drink, booze is about the only thing that'll help. Well it's the only thing that ever seemed to help mine anyway."

"Y-yours?!" Kikyo asked, forgetting her curiosity over the first half of Tomoe's statement.

"Yep." Tomoe took a swig. "It's not half as bad as yours, but I've been marked by Kyuketsukito too," she said as though it were nothing.

What?! …. _WHAT?!_ "What? But I thought you wielded it?! Wait, did _she_ —" So… so she _did_ try and kill everyone! Tomoe only got away grazed and-and… how the fuck did Oji survive?

"No, kid." Tomoe's answers halted what was becoming an epic battle between Tomoe and Oji versus Kitsune. "Your sister's not half as good with Kyuketsukito as she thinks she is, definitely not enough to catch _me_ in that move. I know it better than anyone alive."

"Then how…?"

"That's the thing about Kyuketsukito. You have to _mean it_ when you wield her. One time when I was using that move your sister used on you, I hesitated. And, well…" Kikyo watched as Tomoe wore a pained expression and reached up to the neckline of her blue jonin shirt and pulled it down to show the girl the angry not-quite-shaped scar on her shoulder. "I managed to catch myself and push forward in time to keep myself from winding up like you, but my arm was shit after. I couldn't use it at all for _months_. It was _weeks_ before I could open and close my fist without that half of my body spasming. You're a lot stronger than you think you are." Tomoe stood up. "Now down that and go to sleep. We both could use some and I can't let those morons know I let you have that."

Kikyo looked down at the small glass. How could this much of anything ever be able to take the edge off? She looked up at Tomoe skeptically and the kunoichi looked down at with a raised eyebrow. Kikyo closed her eyes and turned the glass up. "Oh god!" she coughed. The liquid was horrible tasting and burned going down her throat. "What the hell did you give me?! Acid?! How the fuck was that supposed to take the edge off?!"

Tomoe then did something Kikyo never saw her do. She went into full-blown, snorty, laughter. It was _weird_. "Oh god that was rich!" she exclaimed between snorts.

"You did that on purpose!" Kikyo pointed accusingly. "You gave me acidic, defective, alcohol!"

This made Tomoe laugh even more.

"It's not funny!" Kikyo's face went red.

Tomoe finally calmed down and wiped a tear from her eye. Bitch. "Woo! I really needed that." Kikyo crossed her arms and glared at her. "Ah calm down kid, there have been _much_ worse reactions to first drinks."

Kikyo's response was an annoyed growl.

"No, really!" she laughed some more. "Let me tell you about this one time…" Tomoe then went into a 'This one time' story about a clansman whom didn't have a very good first drinking experience. Those stories were always funny. Like, the onetime Hogoken blew a guy across the field during his Ken no Keisho. Or the onetime a clansman activated his Ryugan while traveling through the trees and got so distracted by something that he slammed head first into a limb… Good times.

Tomoe ended her story and things got quiet for a moment. "Tomoe?" Kikyo looked up. "What do you think I should do now? Is it really worth trying to go on when things are just going to get harder and I can't even be a ninja anymore?"

Tomoe sighed. "Kid, I ain't got a horse in that race. It don't matter what I think you should do—"

"Yes it does." Kikyo interrupted forcefully. "It matters a lot what you think." She wanted to know what Tomoe thought, what she _really_ thought. If there was any hope left for Kikyo or if she was just taking up space and wasting oxygen.

"No, it doesn't. It doesn't matter what I think or what I tell you now, not really. You've already got an answer in that head of yours even if you don't know it." She stood up, knocking back a long swig before grabbing her bag. "But I _will_ say that you shouldn't sell yourself short. You'd be amazed how many active jonin there are that have heard, at some point or another, that they couldn't make it as a ninja anymore." Tomoe ruffled her hair as she snatched the booze and shot glass and shoved them back in her bag before removing the chair from the door and exiting the room, leaving Kikyo to stew on everything she had been told.


	9. The Next Step

**"There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds."**

 **-Laurell K Hamilton**

Kikyo ground her teeth as the pain shot up her body from the spasm.

"You did it again, didn't you?" Tomoe crossed her arms.

"…No…" she said through her clenched jaw.

"Kikyo, don't you fucking lie to me." The kunoichi scowled. "Sit the fuck down before you pass out." She pulled a chair from the side of the physical rehab room to the girl.

"I'm… fine…" Kikyo flinched at the burning and leaned on the support beam to steady her weight. "K-keep going…"

Tomoe responded by jerking the girl's hair and pulling her into the chair.

"Gah! Stop that you bitch!" Kikyo rubbed her hair and ruefully scowled at the dark haired woman, wishing she could pull _her_ hair!

"I'll stop it when you do what the fuck I tell you to do." Tomoe placed her hands on her hips before handing the girl a bottle of water.

"I don't want it." Kikyo stared at any other direction than at Tomoe.

"Quit being such a little brat." The nine year old continued to ignore her. Tomoe sighed. "And here I thought you were making such good progress, but if you really want to keep this up I guess we'll end up having to quit before you overexert yourself."

The girl held her childish scowl but averted her eyes back to the kunoichi. "Am I really?"

"You need to get a better grasp on the technique, but you _are_ improving faster than I did." She waved dismissively.

"How can I even do that?" She took the water. "They're muscles, aren't they supposed to move in a specific way?" For the last couple of weeks Tomoe had been teaching the girl a way that she could move around without irritating her scar. It had something to do with having the muscles in her body move in a weird way and left her feeling achy all over on top of the flares. "Muscles are built to pull back and forth, isn't it bad to make them move elsewise? Is it even really possible?"

"I'm moving my arm, aren't I?" Tomoe rotated her arm with ease as though she didn't have a cursed scar on her shoulder.

"But that's just one little place. What we're trying to do is basically change the way most of the muscles on my body move."

"Kid, do you know what these are?" She flexed her arm back and forth. "These are called skeletal muscles, these types of muscles are voluntary. You _choose_ to move them, you are in control. It's all about willpower."

"Tomoe, it's not that simple!" It couldn't be. All Kikyo had wanted to do since waking up in that hospital bed was get up and run away, if it were just a matter of wanting to the Kikyo should have been up and around months ago!

Tomoe's response was a clock to the girl's skull. Helpful Tomoe, very helpful.

"It's not supposed to be. You've spent your entire life training your muscles to move one way and now you're suddenly trying to force them into another? There's going to be major resistance in doing this." Tomoe crossed her arms. "Your muscles are made up of multiple fibers, this is all about learning to move those fibers in a way that they won't irritate the damaged tissue on your body."

"Fuck my luck," Kikyo grumbled.

"Yeah, basically." Kikyo was pretty sure a venomous snake had better bedside manner than Tomoe.

It took more weeks than the girl would like to admit, but she was finally able to (Kind of) do it. She could walk up and down a fucking flight of stairs without collapsing in pain! Granted, if she ever wanted to move around outside or walk it was advised she use a crutch so her scarred leg wouldn't have to support her weight for too long.

"Sweets! Sweets! Sweets!" Naruto sang repetitively as he marched ahead of the other two.

"Damn annoying little bastard," Kikyo growled as he yelled once more for the two girls to pick up the pace. She raised her crutch, aiming for his head.

"No Kikyo, don't do it." Hotaru wiggled her finger. "Don't you remember what happened last time?" Excuse her?! Kikyo remembered just fine! She whacked him over his thick skull with her crutch and the stupid thing broke in half! Stupid shitty weak crutch. She couldn't get back to the hospital on her own after that. It was hard to figure out whether Tomoe was laughing at her or Naruto when she lugged her back to her hospital room. Probably both.

"Yeah, yeah." She waved. "Maybe I should get Tomoe to make me a metal one." That would actually work nicely.

It took Kikyo only a second to realize what she thought and she shook it from her mind. No, she would _not_ use a crutch long enough to get a personalized one!

As the two girls continued Kikyo felt eyes on them and every now and then she would catch the stares. Normally, that kind of stuff didn't bother her because it always happened to Hotaru and Naruto, but her mind just kept going to what Tomoe told her. Were they staring at Hotaru? Or were they staring at her? Were they judging her? Looking down on her pain? Did they think they were better than her?! It seemed everywhere she turned people were averting their eyes as soon she faced them.

"Kikyo? Kikyo?" Kikyo was snapped back to reality. "Are you alright?" Dammit she hated when people asked that.

"Yes!" she growled. "Why the hell wouldn't I be?"

"B-because you just kinda stopped walking and spaced out. I thought you were hurting or something."

"No! I am not hurting!" she barked. She couldn't take this. "I got somewhere to be." She marched off.

"But what about the sweets?" Hotaru pouted.

"You'll eat enough for both of us!"

Kikyo kept walking, and walking until she found herself in front of the Hokage's office. This was stupid. It was stupid and reckless and retarded and-and-and… what the fuck did she have to lose?!

The girl knocked on the office door, wondering if this was all for nothing. "Enter," she heard the calm voice say.

"Yondaime?" She opened the door and gazed at the blonde haired man that was up to his neck in paperwork.

"Yes?" He looked up from his work and blinked at the girl, looking somewhat surprised to see her in his office. "Kikyo, it's good to see you getting around. How are you feeling?"

Her eyebrow twitched. She hated hated _HATED_ when people asked that! Deep breaths Kikyo, you can't break your crutch on the Hokage's head. He is not his son. "I'd feel better if you heard me out."

He blinked again. "Okay." He put all of his work down and took the nine year old seriously. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm getting stronger, everyday I'm getting better at moving around and am having fewer flares. But…" Dammit, what was she thinking? How could she just flat out tell the _leader of the village_ that she was beginning to hate the village?!

"You're not feeling very comfortable, are you?"

Kikyo's shoulders slumped. "Saying that's an understatement would be an understatement."

"What can I do to help?"

"You can give me permission."

The man paused, becoming suspicious. "Permission for what?" he asked hesitantly. Smart man, had Kikyo been like she was months ago he would have every right to ask that the way he did.

"I want permission to leave the village."

If the blonde had been drinking something, he would have done a spit take. "Y-You want to—"

"Yes."

"Kikyo-chan, please understand what you're asking."

"I understand what I'm asking! But I…" She ground her teeth. "I feel there's nothing this village can do for me at the moment. I want to leave, maybe find a kind of training to compensate for my..." She ground her teeth. "...disability. It won't be forever." Probably. "I just need to get away from here for a little while."

"But Kikyo, to leave the village… it's—"

"I don't care what it is! I don't want to be here!" she snapped. "Obviously I'm just wasting my breath." She wouldn't expect _him_ to understand. Kikyo ground her teeth again, waiting for the Hokage to chew her little ass out.

Yondaime sighed and ran his hand through his hair before an epiphany flashed across his face. "Kikyo-chan, it's more complicated than that. You're a child—"

"I am _not_ a child!" Kikyo hasn't felt like a child in months.

"You may not believe so, but you still are in the eyes of many. It would be dangerous for you to leave the village on your own whether you were injured or not."

"I don't care."

"Kikyo-chan please…" The blonde rubbed his eyes and looked a lot older than he should have. "Give me some time to think. Work on getting better and come back again in a two days if you still feel the same. If you're still adamant on leaving I should come up with a solution by then."

"Fine, I'll be back in two days." He had better damned well have a good solution for her or she'd just leave on her own!

After an annoyingly anxious forty-eight hours, the nine year old made a b-line straight for the Hokage's office, determined to get an answer from him then and there.

"Yondaime." She nodded her head as he told her to enter his office.

"Good morning, Kikyo-chan." He wore a weary smile.

"What have you got for me?"

"Alright. I think I might have a solution." He pulled out a particular folder from his usual enormous stack of paper work. "At this time there is exactly one mission that will allow for the travel your request requires without being so dangerous that I would forbid you to go on it."

Kikyo blinked. Was he stupid? No, he's the Hokage… "You _do_ realize that I'm a crippled nine year old… right?"

"And therein lies the problem." Oh, okay, good, so he _did_ know. "First off, you are not qualified to accept missions, especially those of B rank." Shit, it's a B rank? "Secondly, the mission has already been taken."

"Then why the hell did you even bring it up?!" she exclaimed. Seriously, what was the point in wasting breath like that?

"Because, I will allow you to accompany the jonin who took the mission provided you have her permission."

Well, better than nothing she guessed. "Okay, who do I have to ask?"

Minato's mouth twitched to show a small smile. "Tomoe."

…

…

 _WHAT?!_

"OH FUCK YOU!" Kikyo wanted to throw something at him. "LIKE TOMOE WOULD EVER AGREE TO THAT!" She paced angrily back and forth, flinging her crutch in the air only to flinch and bring it back down.

"Actually, I asked Tomoe specifically to take the mission for this exact reason."

That… low down dirty fucking… fuck you, Yondaime!

"Tomoe knows the most about your condition and in my opinion is the best person to guide you on your journey."

"It's a conspiracy." Kikyo shook her head.

"Wha'?"

"You all want me dead. That's what it is. There is no other explanation for trying to send me off to god knows where with that homicidal maniac!"

"She-she's not—well she kinda is, but she doesn't—well she kinda does… uh… She probably doesn't want to kill _you_! Most of the time." He had no fucking clue. Kikyo glared at him. But knowing Tomoe, she would get sick of Kikyo within a week and then she'd be free to do whatever she wanted until it came time to graduate.

"Fine." She crossed her arms. "When do we leave?" She wondered if she had just never mentioned anything in the first place if Tomoe would have just told her to pack her bags one morning and they would have just left.

"Well, the thing is… I have several conditions."

"…Okay."

"My first condition, if you choose to go on this mission, you should continue your studies."

"Why? What's the point?"

"Some of the greatest shinobi I know were at one point told they could never become ninja in the first place."

Kikyo chewed on the inside of her cheek. "Tomoe said something like that."

He smiled a little. "Tomoe would know."

"Is that it?"

"No, my second condition… you still got to ask Tomoe yourself if you can accompany her."

"Why? Doesn't she already know I'm coming?" He said that already, right?

"Well, she's probably guessed that was my intention… however, you still have to ask. If you don't, knowing Tomoe, she wouldn't let you go just out of spite."

"Why didn't you just tell her when you told her about the mission?"

"Well…" Even the great Yondaime, Yellow Flash of Konoha, was scared of Tomoe. "Honestly, I felt it would be best if you asked. Regardless of her feelings on the matter, of whether or not she wanted to or thought you ought to, she would have allowed you to go if I asked. She would have considered it an obligation. But Tomoe wouldn't have any problem expressing her true feelings with you." He had no fucking clue how true that statement was. "She could give you an honest answer, and I really do think that Tomoe's opinion of your condition is one of the most important at this time. So I decided to set up the situation to allow her the final say. She has had time to consider all the facts, and come to a solid decision. And it's that decision that I intend to go with. So yes, you do need to ask her."

"Fine I'll ask her. But think about this Yondaime. You're basically allowing _Tomoe_ to _raise a child_ for _three years_ if she says yes. Just remember that." She gave him a look before leaving the now worried Hokage in his office.

Kikyo spent nearly an entire day doing her very hardest to think of a way to approach Tomoe on the matter. She could try bribery, but Tomoe was a hateful bitch that didn't like anything or anyone. There was blackmail, but Kikyo didn't have anything on her. What about appealing to her good nature—yeah Kikyo couldn't even _think_ that with a straight face. What was left?

Oh just fuck it all to hell! She'd just fucking spit it out and when Tomoe said no Kikyo would just leave the village on her own after Tomoe was long gone.

The girl sat in a chair by her window and gazed outside, her eyes stared at the sunrays that peeked out over the village walls and her yearning to leave greatened.

"Oi, Runt." Tomoe swung the door opened and yelled just like she did every time she entered the room. "I brought food. Hope you like hibachi cause if you don't… well that's too bad cause I'm not going back out and I feel like hibachi."

Kikyo's eyebrow twitched, she loved hibachi, but her natural instinct was to spite Tomoe. Needless to say she had to choke down her instinct and act nice. She was pretty sure it actually caused her physical harm to do so. "Yes, I like hibachi. Thanks." Ugh, she was going to die from resisting bitchy impulses!

"Oi, what are you planning?" Tomoe asked suspiciously with her mouth full of rice.

"I'm not planning anything." Kikyo crossed her arms but then let them fall. "But Tomoe," The kunoichi looked up with her cheeks full of food. "Yondaime told me something interesting yesterday." Kikyo played with her food. "He said you were leaving the village soon. Is that true?" She peeked up and watched her chew.

"Yeah, what of it?" Tome said with her mouth full.

"Well… you probably don't want anyone to go with you, do you?"

"Eh." She shrugged. "I don't much care for long-term missions traveling around all the time. They get boring. And lonely. One time I was almost _convinced_ a tree was talking to me. Granted I'd just gotten a lethal-for-an-elephant dose of tranquilizer…" She shrugged. "But Minato-sensei asked so, ya know, I gotta." She shrugged again.

Kikyo blinked at her, unsure of what to say next. One cannot simply come back from that kind of comment. On the bright side, she wasn't completely against the notion of company. "How…" She continued to play with her food. "How would you feel about someone tagging along?"

"Eh, depend on who the company was." Oh fuck you Tomoe! She knew perfectly well what Kikyo was asking! The stupid bitch!

Kikyo took a calm breath, making very sure Tomoe couldn't see how pissed or desperate she was. Oh, just fuck it already! "What if… what if I was the company?"

"Well…" Tomoe tapped her chopsticks to her lips as if thinking this over despite that fact that Kikyo _knew_ that she'd had more than enough time to deliberate. "You can be an insensitive little pain in the ass, but honestly I bring that out in most people. Nice to know I'm not the big bad influence for once. You're not a total moron so I wouldn't feel inclined to throw you in a ravine and see if you could figure out that you could walk on the fucking water – wait, can you even do that yet? Probably not, moving on..."

Kikyo decided that Tomoe's 'decision-making process' was a waste of her life so she began to eat. _Ugh, just get it the fuck_ over with _already!_

Kikyo may have tuned out the rest of the rant. Okay, there was no 'may' about it, but that stupid thing went on for like two minutes!

She barely managed to tune in for the important bit which would have sucked because then Tomoe would have known she hadn't been listening.

"…but I _guess_ I could deal with your shit seeing as you're not _that_ objectionable." Kikyo chose the wrong time to take a drink of her water as a second later it was sprayed all over Tomoe's face. The jonin stared at her with a deadpan, water dripping off of her face as Kikyo realized in horror that she may have just fucked herself. "You _trying_ to make me change my mind, Runt?"

Kikyo couldn't answer at the moment because she was too busy beating her chest and trying to un-choke herself. Finally she was able to speak again. "Not-not going to lie, I wasn't expecting that answer."

"That's not the words I'm looking for here, Runt." Tomoe cleaned her face with a towel. She wound her arms. "It sounds more along the lines of 'I'm sor—' come on, you can do it." She motioned for Kikyo to finish it out.

Did Kikyo _really_ want to travel with this psycho for three years? The girl looked out the window once more at the sun as it was setting behind the village gate and sighed. "I'm sorry I spat in your face because I was expecting a much more bitchy answer from you." Eh, close enough to a decent apology.

"See? Now, was that so hard?"

"I think I choked a little again."

"Eh, you'll live." Tomoe waved and finished her food.

"So, when do we leave?"

Tomoe tapped her chin again. "Tomorrow good?"

"Tomorrow's more that good. I have to get something, but I'll leave right now if you wanna."

"Nah, Bakuryuu would have kittens if we did that."

"And we care what Oji does because…"

"Like it or not he's you uncle and he loves you so you gotta say goodbye."

Gag. Seriously, don't use the 'L' word. It's lame. "Fine." Kikyo rolled her eyes, it wasn't like anyone was actually going to miss her anyway.

"WHAT?!" …Apparently Oji thought otherwise. The giant man-child was having an absolute fit because the two female Tadashi showed up at his house with their bags packed. "NO WAY! YOU ARE _NOT_ TAKING KIKYO ON A MISSION, TOMOE! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!"

"Your point?" Tomoe crossed her arms. "You have no say in the matter, Minato-sensei already gave us his okay."

"I-you-arrrgh!" He marched away. "Inoue! Please come and talk some sense into them! Or scold them! Or-or something!"

"Scold who? What are you talking about Bakuryuu?" The green haired woman made her way down the stairs, her three year olds tailing quickly behind her.

"Tomoe's hewe!"

"I got hew!" Suzume and Kenshin bombarded the kunoichi, clinging to her legs as she drug the two children.

"Get off my legs you little runts!" Tomoe shook her leg but it just made Suzume laugh even more as she bounced up and down.

"Suzume! Kenshin! Get off of Tomoe!" their mother ordered.

"But Momma~" the little white haired boy whined as Tomoe shook her leg even more. "Tomoe pwaying~"

"I am not! You're annoying!" Tomoe exclaimed but she wasn't doing a very good job of hiding her laugh.

"Enough!" Suzume gave her a scowl and Kenshin pouted, but they released the dark haired kunoichi.

"What's all this ruckus?" Hotaru hopped down the stairs, skipping every other one. "I was—oh hey! Hi Tomoe!" Her face split into what Kikyo could only call 'Oji Grin' when she spied her cousin. "Hey Kikyo! You look like you're doing a lot better! Wanna go play?" Naruto must have still been grounded and Hotaru was getting desperate for social interaction.

"Can't, I'm leaving." Kikyo tightened her grip on her bag.

"Oh, well that was a short visit. You just got here." She pouted a little.

"Not like that Runt Number Two, Kikyo and I are going on a little field trip out of the village." Tomoe smirked.

"NO YOU ARE NOT!" Oji proclaimed.

"Oji, you're blowing things out of proportion." Kikyo crossed her arms.

"I am not!" He pouted pitifully. "You're gonna get hurt."

"Hurt? What's she gonna be doing?" Hotaru cocked her head like a puppy.

"Oi!" Tomoe beat the back of his skull and ignored the eight year old's question as though it was just an off handed comment. "What do you take me for? Huh? You think I'm gonna get the kid killed or something?" Kikyo lifted an eyebrow, still not totally convinced that it wouldn't happen.

"No-but—"

"Come on Kikyo, you said your goodbyes. Now it's time to go."

"No she hasn't!" Hotaru put her hands on her hips. "She hasn't said goodbye to me yet!"

"Goodbye."

"That's not what I mean!" Hotaru stomped her foot angrily and the other girl rolled her eyes and ignored her cousin.

Kikyo was ready to follow Tomoe when she remembered something. "Oji?" She looked to the pouting man-child. "What happened to Hogoken?"

He paused and blinked at her. "Well, I was able to pick it up so I put it in our little training dojo in the back. No use in it just lying around on the ground until the next Ken no Keisho."

"Okay." The nine year old walked past the confused adults into the backyard then to Oji's tiny kenjutsu dojo. Hogoken was placed on a pedestal in the very back. Kikyo approached it and her hand hovered over the blade for a moment. It had allowed her to fight with it back then, but maybe it was a 'desperate times call for desperate measures' kind of thing. If that was true then her hand would just bounce backwards right? Surely it wouldn't be as bad as those 'This one time' stories she always heard. Kikyo was going outside the village walls, a sword of protection would really come in handy. "Do you want to go, Hogoken?" she asked aloud and like a magnet was in her hand the sword, sheath and all, flew the short distance into her palm.

"What the fuck?!" She looked back to see the two adult Tadashi gaping.

"I fought with Hogoken before. I forgot about it for a while, but…" She looked down at the sword. "I don't know if that means it chose me or what, but I wanted to see if it would do it again." The sword saved her life back then. Kikyo was glad the sword accepted her, even in her pathetic state. She'd learn to use it, even if it killed her.

Oji continued to blink like an idiot. Tomoe on the other hand clapped her hands together. "Well, ain't that just interesting!"

"So, is that a yes? Is Hogoken really mine?" She held it closer, daring them to take it now.

Hotaru pushed her way through the adults to see what all the ruckus was about. "Hey! That's not fair! You haven't had your Ken no Keisho yet!" She pointed accusingly. "Daddy! Kikyo's cheating!" She pouted.

"I am not!" She glared.

Bakuryuu was still stunned. "Not going to lie, if I was Hotaru I would have thought you cheated too."

"Oh screw you both," she scoffed. "Come on Tomoe."

"Wait Kikyo! When are you coming back?" Hotaru asked.

She looked back at the green haired girl. "I dunno." Hotaru didn't say anything else but continued to pout until Kikyo and Tomoe were gone.

On their way out Kikyo kept waiting for Tomoe to give her the details of the mission, but _apparently_ Tomoe didn't think Kikyo should know.

"So Runt, you ready?" She sneered. "The place where we're headed could be unpredictable."

"Where _are_ we going?" Kikyo didn't care if Tomoe made a snarky comment or not, she just wanted to know at that point.

"You-you don't know?" You could almost see the question mark over her head… or maybe she thought Kikyo was already in the loop. "Man Minato-sensei, way to drop the ball on that one. I assumed he told you before he had you ask."

"Nope." She popped the 'p'. "He just told me there was a way to get out of the village and told me I had to ask you for permission. That was all."

"God Minato-sensei!" Tomoe rolled her eyes. "So you have no idea what we're getting into here?"

"None what so ever." Kikyo waited for the explanation.

Tomoe sighed as the two walked down the dirt road that lead away from Konoha. "Not very long ago a squad was scouting out some territory just outside the Land of Fire. Now, as we all know, the Land of Fire has a very temperate climate full of trees and forests," she pulled out a scroll that must have been a copy of the mission report. "But from what it says here, it was noon on an almost cloudless day. The squad had just made it to the end of their route when a thunderstorm came from out of nowhere. The wind nearly blew one of them away and lightning was raining down like crazy. When the squad finally made their way through the storm what stood before them was an ocean." She rolled up the report. "This was to the north, close to the border of the Land of Grass."

Kikyo furrowed her brow. The only sea the Land of Fire had was to its southern and eastern sides, other than that it was land locked. "So what? Some kind of teleportation jutsu? A genjutsu maybe?"

Tomoe shrugged. "Dunno, that's what we're going to find out."

"Did they go any farther in to get more info?"

"A bit, but according to the report it was nothing like anything in the Elemental Nations. Right now it's not very widely known knowledge, but us being us we've already come up with a name for this damn place."

"What is it?"

Tomoe stared straight ahead. "They're calling it 'The Outside'."


	10. The Outside

"Tomoe, how much farther?" Kikyo asked in a somewhat frustrated tone. It was their _millionth_ break that day!

"Chill out, Runt. It's not like we can move much faster than this anyway." Kikyo could practically _taste_ the distain Tomoe had to be feeling towards her at the moment. She didn't say it aloud much, but it was all Kikyo's fault that it was taking them this long to get to this 'Outside' place. Two whole weeks of traveling at snail's pace, having to take constant breaks so Kikyo could catch her breath or build up enough strength to get moving again, and it still felt like they weren't getting anywhere at all!

It was just so frustrating!

Kikyo wanted to come along so maybe she could get stronger, but all this was doing was making her feel even more like a stupid, weak little kid! "Oi, we're getting close so don't get your kunai all in a knot," Tomoe said suddenly.

"How do you knot kunai?" Kikyo asked a little snarkily.

"Very carefully." Tomoe held up a finger.

"You're stupid."

"I'm not the one who doesn't know how to knot kunai!"

"You can't knot kunai! That's a bad pun! Lame-ass."

"What did you say, Runt?!" A tick mark appeared.

"Lame. Ass. Want me to spell—" A fight ensued.

…And lasted about point ten seconds before Kikyo was on the ground, writhing in pain.

"Tomoe… you… fucking _bitch_!" Kikyo spat venom as she gripped the shoulder Tomoe hit. Forget the fucking bloody nose, that was going to have her spasming for at least a few hours! "I'll… get you… for that…!" Kikyo gasped out over the pain.

"I'm sure you will." Tomoe smirked and patted the top of her head.

She better damn well be sleeping with one eye open.

"Tomoe?" Kikyo asked later on after they were able to continue with their journey. "What's the Outside like? How do we know when we get there?"

"Bitch please, I am a jonin, I'll know."

"But how will _I_ know?" How could Tomoe think that Kikyo could just go into this completely blind? "I haven't been trained for field work yet."

"If you can't fucking figure it out then maybe you're not fit to be a shinobi," Tomoe snarked.

"How the fuck do I know what to even fucking look for?!"

"It'll be something out of the ordinary, something that's not natural."

"You're not natural, does that mean you're from the Outside?"

"No, it means I am a fucking beast."

"You mean a fucking bitch," Kikyo mumbled.

"Damn straight I am." Tomoe held her head high.

Kikyo rolled her eyes, glad that she could do at least _one_ normal thing without hurting.

Suddenly, Kikyo felt something in the air. She wasn't sure how to describe it, but it just felt _wrong_. Like-like she was being warned about something _really_ bad. The sky rapidly turned dark and the wind swirled in all directions, almost knocking the small nine year old onto her ass. Lightning flashed across the sky, colliding with other strikes of lighting to make an explosion of white hot energy. Another enormous gust of wind passed through and Kikyo felt her feet leave the ground.

"Shit-shit-shit motherfucking shit!" Tomoe grabbed and pulled her back down to the ground. "You seriously need to put on some weight, Runt!"

"Tomoe! What's happening?!" Kikyo shouted over the wind. "How are we going to get out?!"

"We're not," she stated calmly.

"We have to!" Every clash of lightning, every blast of wind, it all just felt _wrong_ and unnatural! This storm was bad news and Kikyo wanted nothing to do with it!

"We're going through it."

… Well, Tomoe just lost her fucking mind. Seriously, Kikyo was pretty sure this land hurricane or whatever the fuck it was isn't even supposed to ex—son of a bitch! Kikyo ground her teeth and covered her ears to keep a clap of thunder from destroying her ear drums. "How?!"

"We keep going straight!"

"I can't!"

"Don't be a fucking pussy! Of cou—shit!" Tomoe had let go of Kikyo and the wind nearly took her again. "Okay, new plan! Focus charka into the bottoms of your feet!"

"I don't know how to do that!"

"Fucking Academy!" Tomoe looked like she wanted to throw her arms up, but in doing so she'd probably lose Kikyo again. "Okay, what you do is—" Chain lightning flashed down and destroyed a tree only several feet away from them. "Fuck!"

"Where do we even go?!" Any sort of sense of direction was lost in this storm.

"We move ahead!" she ordered as she began to move, her grip on Kikyo didn't let up even a little.

Kikyo didn't know how, but apparently Tomoe had some sort of idea where she was going because eventually things began to lighten up. Either that or they were just walking in circles like a couple of idiots and the storm was finally calming down. Kikyo's money would have been on the latter.

Eventually the wind had lightened up enough that Tomoe could let go of Kikyo without fear of her being picked up and carried away. "I think we're almost through," she told her.

Then, as suddenly as the hurricane-like storm came, it ended. Within a spit second Kikyo could see the sun and blue sky where before there were nothing but black clouds. "Holy shit!" She peered at the now clear sky.

"So, Runt, you think you were able to tell when we passed into the Outside?" Tomoe looked worn out, but smirked down at her.

"…Why the hell would someone go through that?!"

Tomoe shook her head. "Because it was their mission. Just because it looks dangerous doesn't mean you can call off the mission, turn tail, and hide. There's shit to be done and a shinobi must always be willing to risk his or her life for that shit."

"But that shit was just ridiculous!"

"I know." Tomoe glanced back. "Well, I can mark 'genjutsu' off the list of possibilities."

"Are you sure? It could be a really strong one." If that were true then they were both stuck with no one to get them out.

"I'm sure." Kikyo could see the corner of Tomoe's dark purple iris. "I've yet to see a genjutsu that my eyes couldn't break down." Her sharp eyes then scanned their surroundings. "But we do seem to be somewhere else."

Kikyo looked in every direction, but only the forest that they had been traveling through. "What makes you say that?"

"Come on, Runt. It's time to learn." Tomoe grabbed her hair and led her to one of the trees. "You see this tree? It's larch."

Kikyo blinked, expecting more information. "…Okay." It just looked like a tree.

Tomoe sighed, getting impatient. "Larches grow in northern territories. It's far too hot in the Land of Fire for these trees to prosper. They're more common around Iwa or Kumo."

"So, does that mean we're in enemy territory?"

"Good train of thought, but we're ' _technically'_ not at war right now so ' _technically'_ they aren't enemies. Granted, if those fuckers have been developing a teleportation jutsu and it leads to inside the Land of Fire then it would be enough probable cause for war. But, the scouting team would have known if this was within the Elemental Nations."

"I guess. If this was theirs I suppose there would be guards around the general area." Her statement sounded very uncertain but after said aloud it made sense. "And you didn't see anything with your Ryugan."

"There we go, you're not completely useless!"

"I hate you."

"I know you do, Runt."

"Where are we even going?" The forest seemed to be thinning out.

"The mission report stated that the Outside had an ocean. We're going to start from there and work our way around the shoreline until we reach a port. From there all we have to do is gather intel."

"How do you know there's even a port here?"

"Because I fucking know everything."

"You do not, Fuck up Tomoe."

"Hey kid?" Tomoe backhanded the nine year old so hard that she fell face first into the dirt. "Who's the fuck up now?"

"Still you, you fucking bitch!" She rubbed the sore on the back of her head.

"Well, that didn't fucking take long at all." Tomoe seemingly ignored her and put her hands on her hips, staring ahead.

"What is— whoa." The forest had ended at the edge of a high cliff, at the bottom was a town with a vast dock and multiple ships in the harbor, but past that… it was just water. She glanced left, and then right, the water was in every direction except for behind. She had heard the ocean was big, but hearing it and seeing it were two completely different things.

"You ain't even seen the ocean, Runt?"

"No." She shook her head. "I've left the village before, but that was only for training."

"Alright, alright, enough gawking. It's time to get to work." She ushered the girl along. It took a little more walking, but the two were able to find a safe way down and made a b-line to the port town.

"So, how are we going to get information?" Kikyo asked.

"Excuse the fuck out of you? What makes you think _we_? _I'm_ the one who's gonna be gathering the info."

"But I'm here too!"

"Yes, to learn."

"Then teach me!"

Tomoe blew a raspberry and snorted. "Trust me, Runt. There are things you don't wanna know."

Kikyo's eyebrow twitched. How dare she assume Kikyo couldn't handle this?! "You're going to torture people, right?" She held her head high, she knew what gathering information entailed. "Or put them under a genjutsu and pull it from their heads."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there Runt." Tomoe waved her finger at Kikyo like she was some kind of adult or something. "Those are drastic measures that are seriously not needed here. We start with basic information and work our way up. Those tactics are saved for when there are secrets to uncover. I might work my way up there, but for now we need recent events, maps, charts, populations, technology, and a grasp on their culture."

"Well?" Kikyo tapped her foot. "Where do you find that stuff?" They would probably be running all over the place all week trying to get their hands on all those things.

Tomoe wore an almost vengeful smirk. "Feel like checking out the nearest hospital?"

Kikyo's jaw dropped. That bitch! "No, I don't wanna go to a hospital!" No! She just got out of one! She couldn't make her! No! "I _won't_ go to a hospital!" she made her statement more solid.

"Well, too fucking bad." Tomoe turned her nose up and drug the girl by her shot hair.

"Son of a fucking bitch, Tomoe! Fucking let go of me!"

"Ank, say it right if you're going to use it. Let the fuck go of me."

" _Let the fuck go!"_

"Much better." She smirked.

"Tomoe!" Kikyo had resorted to kicking and punching at the aggressive adult. Suddenly a painful, burning spasm radiated throughout her body and the brunette collapsed to the ground with her fever spiking. Son of a bitch! Again?! That's all it took, just twisting the wrong way, and she went into a painful flare!

Tomoe halted and stared down with pity in her eyes before regaining her usual bitchy composure. "See, that's what you get. Dumbass." She pulled the spasming child on her back and continued to walk from there.

"You're the dumbass." Kikyo countered between painful flinches.

"Nice comeback." Tomoe stopped and examined the signs on the side of the street. "Well damn, I don't know this language." Tomoe narrowed her eyes to try and make sense of the odd shapes that were in no way kanji. The woman was still decoding the sign when the oddest looking man approached and examined it as well as he held up a map. He had short, blonde hair that was partly hidden under a black beanie, dark sunglasses, and he was wearing what looked like face paint as though he were some kind of stupid looking clown. He was really tall and gangly with a button up shirt that was covered in hearts and on his back was this huge black feathery cape thing.

"You see!" He smiled widely down to his feet where a scrawny boy that was wearing a fluffy white hat stood. "This hospital's supposed to be really good!"

The boy gave the man a very dark look. "I don't want to go to another hospital."

"Don't be silly! We'll fix it this time for sure!"

"Excuse me," Tomoe interrupted. "Did you say you were headed to the hospital?" Both turned to the kunoichi.

"Yes, do you need directions?"

"Afraid so. You see, we're from out of town so I'm not familiar with the area and we really haven't had a chance to buy any maps yet." Since when could Tomoe do _nice_? It was weird as fuck.

"Oh! Then it's no problem at all! We'd be more than happy to show you because we're going ourselves!" he exclaimed so happily that it reminded Kikyo of Oji.

"No we're not." The boy crossed his arms.

"Yes we are." The man picked him up by the shirt and carried the kicking boy as though he were a shopping bag. Good to know Kikyo wasn't the only one being forced by their travel partner to look like a stupid, whiny kid. "My name is Corazon and this," He held the pouting boy up higher by the back of his shirt. "Is Law." The four, well basically two because the other two were being carried, began walking down to main-street towards where the hospital must have been.

"Tomoe and this is my sister Kikyo." The older kunoichi gestured and Kikyo's jaw dropped. Why the hell would she ever introduce them like that?! She wanted to strangle Tomoe for saying such a stupid thing! Kikyo hated it, she hated the very thought of being referred to as _anyone's_ sister, even if it _was_ fake!

"Oh my, she doesn't look too well. What's wrong with her if you don't mind my asking?" The odd blonde man glanced down at her and pulled his sunglasses from his eyes, making it easier to see the face paint that surrounded his right eye.

"I should be the one asking you that, you fucking circus clown," Kikyo growled at the man who didn't seem to mind the insult. The boy on the other hand, snickered from his place dangling off of his hand.

"My sister has a bit of a weak body which makes her sickly and sometimes hard for her to move. I can tend to her fine for the most part, but recently we've been looking for some medicine to help ease some of her pain." What a stupid excuse, nothing could ease the pain, not unless it knocked her out.

"That's very unfortunate. I hope you find what you're looking for." The weirdo gave them a sympathetic look and it made Kikyo want to strangle him. How dare hit pity her like that?!

Tomoe moved on to a different subject before _someone_ strangled the clown man. "So, is this hospital good?"

"I heard it's great! And everyone is very nice!"

"You said that about the last one too," the boy grumbled.

"Well this one's going to be better, you'll see, Law."

"Kid doesn't like hospitals?" Tomoe quirked an eyebrow at the boy.

"You could say that, he's very sick but doesn't have much trust in others."

"Hm, gee I wonder who that could sound like. Do you know Kikyo?"

"Go to hell, Tomoe."

"Race you."

"Here we are!" Stupid Clown Guy exclaimed with his arms out wide. The hospital was _huge_ and had to have had at least ten stories on it. Kikyo wasn't used to such tall buildings because you just didn't see them in the Elemental Nations.

"Well, thanks for showing us the way." Tomoe waved to the pair and the two kunoichi went their separate way into the facility.

"What the hell are you thinking?! Kikyo hissed.

"Just shut up and let some of the doctors have a look at you."

"Like hell I will!"

"Oi, Runt." Tomoe grabbed her by the collar. "You said you wanted to help get information, didn't you?"

"This isn't helping!" she ground her teeth.

"Really? Haven't' you ever heard of a distraction?" Tomoe lifted an eyebrow.

"I-but-they're going to—I hate you, Tomoe."

"I know." She patted the girl's head and left while Kikyo waited for the doctor. Things went about as well as Kikyo could have expected, Tomoe found a few new pain killers, but called it a day when Kikyo tried to stab a doctor that got too close to the center of the scar.

"I want to go, Tomoe." Kikyo crossed her arms and demanded.

"Chill out, squirt. We'll leave, just wait here while I do a little more digging and we'll blow this popsicle stand."

"Fine," she growled back and sat on the exam room stool. Tomoe had only been gone a moment when there was a crashing noise coming from outside. The brunette opened the door and saw the boy from earlier running down the hall.

"White monster! Please! Someone stop him so he doesn't infect everyone else!" a nurse screamed. The boy ran past Kikyo's room and it wasn't hard to tell that the kid was crying his eyes out. "Someone get the disinfectant!"

A monster? Kikyo _had_ to see this. The girl rolled her shoulders to make sure her muscles were going to move the way she wanted them to and took off to follow the boy. Before they reached the end of the hallway there was a small explosion and the room he had run from was on fire. Did he do that?! That little bastard! Kikyo knew hospitals did shit for her, but there were people actually getting help there! Kikyo sped up, determined to sock him one in the face. She chased him all the way out of the hospital before she caught up and planted her fist in the back of his head.

"Ow!" He gripped the spot with both hands, his eyes full of tears and his nose snotting.

"Oi! How dare you set the hospital on fire you little ass!" She raised her fist again and dodged as the boy did a swing of his own.

"I did not!" He tried to kick at her head only for her to catch it. It was nice to know that there was _someone_ in the world she could beat.

"Oh really? Cause it kind of fucking looked like it!"

"No! I just ran because-because…" He sniffled. "They called me a monster." He rubbed his eyes.

Kikyo lowered her fists, the boy looked older than her, but he seemed to be much more of a crybaby. "Why?" The kid looked pretty far from the monsters and demons she would read about. He was kind of short, barely taller than her, very scrawny, he had dark circles under his eyes, and he had oddly colored bruises all over his face. The bruises looked like he had gotten into some white paint and it just absorbed into his skin. "If you're a monster, you're a pretty lame looking one." Not as lame as Hotaru, but pretty close.

"It-it's because I have Amber Lead poisoning." He wiped his face in an attempt to stop looking like a wussy.

"Amber Lead poisoning?" Kikyo came closer and examined odd pigments on him.

The boy leaned away and wore a cautious expression. "Aren't you afraid of catching it?"

Kikyo's eyebrows shot up. "Did that effect you're brain too?" She hit him in an attempt to knock some sense into the boy. "You can't catch poison you dumbass!" Granted, she supposed if a poison was potent enough it could be transferred via blood infusion, but Kikyo was a Tadashi so there was no threat there.

He rubbed his head and got a tick mark on it. "I know that!"

"Then why did you say it?!"

"Because other people think it is!"

"Well maybe they're dumbasses too!"

"They are!"

"But you just said it too!"

"I was making an assumption!"

"Well you shouldn't! It makes you look stupid!"

"See, I told you. Just follow the shouting," Tomoe's voice sounded from behind where she and Clown Guy were walking toward the children. Clown Guy looked like someone just punched him in the face, Kikyo's guess? Tomoe.

"Law! There you are! I was so worried! I'm sorry this hospital was bad, we'll try another one."

"You better damn well not set the next one on fire!" Tomoe warned.

"They deserved it!" he growled.

"I don't care. If the doctor is an asshole, you beat the shit out of _him_ , don't take it out on all the innocent people inside by blowing up his office and setting the building on fire."

"You fix it?" Kikyo asked.

"Duh, of course I did. When I was done I found the culprit and kicked his ass too." She gave Clown Guy a _look_. "But then he gave me the reason _why_ he did what he did and, well… I guess I'm just a softy."

"Yeah, about as soft as a porcupine," Kikyo mumbled.

"Come on Law, we're leaving." Clown Guy picked up the boy by his shirt.

"You ready Kikyo?"

"More than ready." She crossed her arms. "Are we going back to the forest? Or are we staying in the town or getting on a passenger boat?"

"No, we're leaving with them." She pointed to the boy and clown.

"Why the hell would we do that?!"

"Well, while beating the ever living shit out of our new little friend Corazon—"

"He's not _my_ friend."

"—He told me something interesting." She turned to the boy. "Little Law here has come in contact with a poison I'm unfamiliar with…"

"And he thinks it's contagious." Kikyo quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh honey." Tomoe patted his head sympathetically.

"I do not!"

"What's the point in this Tomoe?" Kikyo scoffed. "If a sample of the poison is all you need then just draw some blood and leave it there." She threw her arm out at the kunoichi.

"No Kikyo, you see, there's this thing called helping people. Ninja do that too," she said sarcastically.

"Yeah, when they're not killing them," she snarked. "Why should we go out of our way to help these people that are not only strangers, but Outsiders as well?"

"Because I said so dammit, don't question me."

"You fucking bitch!" She'd question her all she damn well wanted!

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"Corazon." The boy looked up to his companion. "What have you done?"

"Tomoe-san has studied medicine and I told her about the Amber Lead poisoning. She said she would see if there was anything she could do about it. Isn't that exciting?!" He gave the boy a wide grin, but the boy gave Tomoe a very uncertain look.

"You do realize that the only reason Tomoe only knows _anything_ about medicine is because she's a tracker right?" Kikyo added.

"What's that?"

"It means she learned about medicine so she could more efficiently kill people."

His jaw not only dropped, but hit the ground and his eyes bulged from his skull. It was interesting to watch.

"Oh… so that's a no." She smirked. This was going to be interesting.

"Kikyo, if you're going to get anywhere as a ninja there's a lesson you need to learn, and learn fast."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"There's a time and place for everything and this was neither the time nor the place for that."


	11. Law and the Clown

_Clack, clack, clack_ the sound of wood clashing echoed in Kikyo's ear as she swung her bokken at the boy before her. _Clack, clack, clack_! Left. Right. Right again. She watched the pale boy stab at her, getting more and more frustrated with each unsuccessful strike. The brunette saw an opening and lunged, ignoring the pain as her muscles seared from the movement, and stabbed him in the center of his belly.

"Dead," she stated as he fell backwards onto his back.

"Grah!" He leapt back up to his feet and swung at her furiously.

Kikyo ducked and her body screamed for her to cease, but she couldn't. There was no way in hell she would stop just because of some pain. She spun after the duck, getting a full view of his entire back that Law had left unprotected, but did not attack. It was the one rule she had set up for their duels, so she waited for the boy to spin before she jabbed her bokken in his chest, landing him on his scrawny ass once more. "Dead," she said once more.

"No I'm not!" Law began to pull himself up when her foot came down on his chest and the end of her wooden sword was in his white splotched face.

"Be glad for that." She was tired and her nerves were spasming from the workout. "We're done." She sighed. Kikyo didn't know whether she was glad that she could actually beat someone in basic combat, or ashamed that the only person she _could_ beat was a terminally ill midget. Most likely the latter.

"You snarky little—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a bitch." She waved, uninterested in any of his pathetic insults. She tossed the bokken aside and laid on her stomach next to where Tomoe was sitting and writing. "What are you doing?" she asked, laying her head on top of her folded arms. Kikyo almost sighed in relief as her muscles loosened.

"It's classified."

The girl scowled. "Is it classified from me or the Outsiders?"

"Both." She didn't look up as her pen stoked across the scroll.

"Why is it classified from me?"

"Because I said so."

"That's a stupid reason."

"Only because you're a stupid little runt that doesn't understand what it means to be a ninja."

Her eyebrow twitched. "Maybe if _someone_ would spend more time teaching me instead of making up excuses then I could understand more." She'd been so busy with her _classified_ shit the last few days that she hadn't taught Kikyo anything! Her only source of training came from the new punching bag that was still muttering curses towards her under his breath.

Tomoe rolled her eyes and put down the pen before reaching to her side and pulling out a bottle and a small cup. "Here." She filled the small, plastic cup with dark liquid. "You're bitchy when you're in pain."

"I'm always in pain." She glowered at the older brunette.

"My point exactly." She scooted the cup in front of her face, letting her take in the chemical smells that rose from the liquid.

For a second she hesitated before taking the cup, scotch left a bad taste in her mouth, but it dulled the sharp, burning pain that shot through her body. Kikyo downed the liquor quickly in one shot, shaking her head reflexively from the strong taste.

"Can I have some?" Law sat cross legged across from Tomoe and began to build a fire for their dinner.

"Sorry, Kid. This is too strong for you and I don't carry any lightweight shit." Tomoe took a swig straight from the bottle.

"What makes you think it's too strong for me?" He furrowed his brow.

"Because it was strong for _me_ when I was her age." Tomoe jabbed her thumb at Kikyo. "If you're so curious then have Cora-kun bring you something lighter."

"He doesn't want me to, but…" He did a quick scan to make sure the clown man was still away from their camp before raiding his bag for a bottle. "That's never stopped me before." He smirked as he popped the bottle open. "Are you gonna snitch?" he asked.

"Snitches get stitches," the girls recited together.

"Nice." Law took a swig before attempted, and fail, not to shudder from the taste.

"You got nothing to worry about, Kid." Tomoe took another gulp. "There's a saying in the Tadashi clan 'Live while you're young cause you won't have a chance to get old'. And considering your circumstances, that saying applies to you too."

"At least someone can get it in their head," he scoffed. "If only you could convince Corazon of the truth."

"I'm working on it, Kid. I'm still decoding the components within the toxin." Tomoe wore a hard frown as she said this.

"Doesn't matter." He sounded bored. The boy decided he didn't want to drink after all and laid down on his sleeping bag. "The best doctors have tried, but they all failed. I'm gonna die soon."

Kikyo's eyebrow twitched right before she decided to chunk her empty cup at the boy. "Dumbass!"

"What was that for?!" He clutched the bump it left.

"Those doctors didn't look like they were trying to help you at all!" The images flashed through the nine-year-old's head. In the three days they had spent with the Outsiders, the four had visited two hospitals, the first was bad was bad considering there was panic caused by the little boy and his clown set a room on fire, but the second was by far much worse considering they called soldiers to come and kill the poisoned boy. All those doctors and nurses were superstitious cowards! She wondered if they avoided the glances of crows and refused to cut their nails at night. "All of them are cowardly dumbasses and Tomoe could outdo them any day of the week!"

"Aw, I'm touched."

"SHUT UP, TOMOE!" she snapped back.

"Ooh, angry little drunk, aren't we?" The bitch seemed to be amused by the intoxication that _she_ brought about.

"I AM ALWAYS ANGRY!"

"And if you don't pipe down I'm going to hit you."

"I DON—" _Fwak_. Tomoe swatted the back of her head with the girl's bokken. "TOMOE, YOU—" _Fwak_.

"Keep going, Runt. I can I can play _Whack the Bitch_ all day."

"WHY YOU—" _Fwak_. DAMMIT TOMOE!

"Hahaha!" Law pointed. "That's what you get for being haughty, Cripple!"

"I'm still better than you, Terminal Midget!" Sad fact, but true. He should be ashamed. Lightning struck between the two as they grabbed more weapons and went at it once more.

"Damn, they're _both_ angry little drunks." Tomoe wore a sweatdrop on her head.

"Good evening!" Clown Man waved happily as he approached the campsite, supplies and maps filled his arms. "I've returned with dinner!" He smiled and sat down next to Tomoe. "Were they too much trouble, Tomoe-san?" His eyes glanced to the two.

"Nah." Tomoe waved off the scuffling children. "A bit loud, but that's just how kids are, what did you bring back, Cora-kun?"

"Well," He unrolled the map. "I've considered a few new possibilities for hospitals to take the children to, the trail will lead even farther north."

"I hope these are better than the last ones." Tomoe gave him a bland look. It was just flat out weird to see Tomoe _preventing_ violence and destruction whenever the man lost his temper with a craven doctor.

"They definitely will be! I'm sure of it! Did you hear that, Law? Kikyo-chan—" The kunoichi-to-be's bokken swung at the blonde man's head.

"Watch your fucking tongue, Clown!" she snapped. She tolerated it when older shinobi and the doctors called her that, but Corazon was stupid and had no right to address her as though she were a child!

A large bump swelled on his head, but the man did not seem to care as his jaw hit the ground and his hand went over his mouth as he gasped. "H-how could such a little gir—" _Fwap_ , her bokken swung through the air, giving him another bump on top of the first.

"Keep going. I dare you." Her eyes narrowed as she pointed her bokken at his head.

Meanwhile, the ever supportive Tomoe, was cackling her ass off.

"Come on, Corazon! Don't let this little cripple beat you!" Law shook his fist.

"You looking to find someone to kick my ass because you can't, Terminal Midget?!" She spun back on him.

"Why would I have to look? Tomoe's right there."

"Cocky little bitch, aren't you? So cocky that you try and get a woman to fight the battles you can't win!"

"You just got lucky!"

"Every time we fought?! That ain't luck, dumbass!"

"You're the dumbass!"

"Really?! Cause last time I checked you're the idiot that thought poison was contagious!"

"I. DID. NOT!" The bokken made contact, shattering upon impact. There was only a second of hesitation before a scuffle cloud surrounded the two as they went at it again.

"So this is what happens when you put two rude, antisocial children together. Pretty entertaining." Tomoe nodded.

"Law, she's four years younger than you…" Corazon pinched the bridge of his nose. "They shouldn't be fighting like this, one of them is going to get hurt."

"Alright, alright. I'll fix it." Tomoe promptly stood up and walked over to the scuffle cloud. Kikyo had just landed her elbow in Law's chest as he pulled at her hair and he bit down on her wrist as she pinched his cheek. "Okay, kids." She plucked both of them up by the scruff of their necks. "Play time is over, now kiss and make up." And in one swift movement their skulls were crashed together before she released and sent them both tumbling to the ground. "Good." She smiled that horrible fake smile of hers.

"Tomoe, you unimaginable bitch!" Kikyo could hear pounding in her ears from the blow and her hands clutched the already swelling bruise.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." She waved.

Kikyo ground her teeth, thinking of every curse she had ever learned, wishing so badly she could get payback for every time Tomoe did something like that!

"Why did you hit me?!" Law shouted angrily.

"What? Are you saying I should punish one of you for misbehaving and not the other? What kind of example is that setting?" Tomoe used her 'innocent' voice.

"But she started it!"

"And now I'm ending it. Kikyo, go work on your kunai."

"But…" How dare she send her off like some being put in the corner?!

"Not buts, unless you want me to kick yours."

Her eyebrow twitched. "One day, you just wait, Tomoe." Kikyo pointed a menacing finger at the kunoichi.

"Yes, but until that day…" Tomoe ruffled the girl's messy hair playfully. "I can still kick your little ass."

Kikyo smacked her hand away before scowling and marching away from the three into the wooded area. The girl was still grumbling curses at the older Tadashi as she plopped down on a rock and pulled a whetstone to sharpen her kunai.

"Tomoe's pretty tough." A voice sounded from behind her after a while.

"Why the fuck else do you think she trains me?" Kikyo scoffed back at the splotched boy.

"It must have sucked growing up with a sister like that. Knowing she was so much better than you at everything, smarter too, and knowing you'd never be able to catch up," he snarked.

Something snapped, she wasn't sure what, but something _definitely_ snapped because she was on the boy in a split second, the shiny kunai Tomoe had given her nearly pressed to his head. "Don't you _ever_ fucking talk about my sister, you got that?" her voice was low, but she fit venom in every letter. "She's a piece of shit and I'll make her pay the price for what she did. Even if I fucking kill myself doing so. I'll make her fucking regret not killing me then. So say something about her again. I fucking dare you." She'd do it, she'd cut him. If he said one more thing about that _bitch_ she would stain him red on top of all that white.

This… took the boy by complete and utter surprise. His mouth was ajar as he stared, completely dumbfounded at the sudden aggressiveness. "I didn't know you and Tomoe had problems that ran that deep."

"Tomoe?" What did Tomoe have to do with—fuck! The _fucking_ cover story. She slowly pulled the kunai away and got off of him. "Right…"

"What the hell are you trying to pull?!" he barked.

"Doesn't matter." She picked up the whetstone once more. "Just don't refer to Tomoe as _my sister_." Tomoe was too good to compared to that bitch.

"Touchy, touchy." He rubbed the back of his head and scowled. "Didn't think your issues with Tomoe were so serious."

"I didn't know you could think."

"That's rich coming from a hot headed bitch like you."

"You're just jealous because I can kick your ass. Maybe you should be the one referred to as a cripple."

"No, terminally ill fits me just fine." He sat and crossed his arms.

"It's no fun if you admit it." Kikyo furrowed her brow.

"I know." He smirked and leaned back.

"Are you still drunk?"

"Quite possibly."

"I hope you have a hell of a hangover."

"Right back at you, bitch." He showed her his middle finger before sitting and watching her a while longer as she polished and sharpened Tomoe's kunai. "Why are you taking so much time for that one?"

"Because, this is my Throat Slitting kunai. I have to take extra measures to ensure that it's taken care of."

"Couldn't any kunai slit a throat?"

"No, this one is special. It was a gift and I intend to hold on to it for as long as I can." If she ever went over the edge again, she would keep her word to Tomoe and use it just like she told her to.

"Who gives a throat slitting kunai as a gift?"

"Ninja."

He furrowed his brow. "I suppose." He paused for another moment, deciding whether to say something or not before finally opening his mouth. "Do you know how to do a clone jutsu?"

"…. Yeah… it's a D rank jutsu. Anyone can do one." As long as anyone wasn't Naruto.

"… Would you show me?" Curiosity sparked in his normally bland face.

He wanted her to show him a jutsu? Interesting~. Kikyo looked him dead in the eye and ushered for him to come closer. "Go fuck yourself, I'm not doing you any favors."

And there was the face fault she was hoping to see. Ah, sweet vengeance. "You bitch!" He swung at her.

"Awww, poor widdle Law won't get to see the jutsu~."

"Why don't you go somewhere and kill yourself?!" he barked at her, face reddening.

"Been there, tried that. Got caught halfway through."

"Well I—" His flame got put out by the reply and his fist lowered. "You tried to… ?"

Well, looky looky, she caught him off guard. She supposed that she didn't look like the type, but people were never really what they appear, were they? The nine-year old pulled her right arm out in front of her and rolled up the sleeve to reveal a white scar stretching across her pale wrist. "Tomoe stopped it, now I gotta look at this thing every day and be reminded of what I almost did." She wasn't necessarily grateful for what Tomoe did, but for the time being she was still trying her best.

Law stared at it for a long second before finally speaking up. "And you call me the stupid one."

"EXCUSE THE FUCK OUT OF YOU?!" she roared back at him. "HOW DARE YOU FUCKING ACT ALL HIGH AND FUCKING MIGHTY YOU FUCKING BASTARD!?" Her elbow found his face and knocked him to the ground. An enraged Kikyo climbed over him and began shaking the boy by the collar of his shirt. "You think you have any right to judge me?! What makes you so much fucking better, huh?!" Her muscles were enflamed and begged her to stop through tiny spasms brought about by the harsh movement, but her temper would allow her to. "Your family's dead, your country is gone, people look at you like you're some kind of monster or freak, and you say your life expectancy is about three more months! I would much rather do it by my own hand than watch my health spiral into nothingness! So why didn't you?!" She had finally had her fill of abuse for the time being and released him, letting his head hit the dirt beneath him. Spasms shot through her legs as she hobbled back to her seat and pulled her knees to her chest, blinking back annoyed tears.

"I want to live.," he said after a second of silence. His yellow eyes glared back at her. "You think I would give up on living after seeing what I've seen? I escaped my doomed country by hiding under a pile of dead bodies. There's no way in hell I was just going to let those assholes win. Yeah, I'm going to most likely die soon, but I don't want to." His glare shifted down to the ground. "Corazon told me that there might be something out here that can save me."

"Well aren't you fan-fucking-tastic?" she barked back. "What a great will to live, too bad it's not gonna do jack shit." She clapped sarcastically. "If the poison doesn't get you, something else will. Even if we try, weaklings like us don't get to choose how we go." Her fingers traced the scar on her wrist.

"Don't you sound bitter."

"I am."

"I hate bitter things."

"Oh boo the fuck hoo. Get the fuck over it."

"Law! Kikyo!" The clown waved and ran towards them as if he couldn't be seen. "The food is re—" In the blink of an eye, the large man fell flat on his face.

"He fell."

"Did he trip over something?"

"Yes, the air."

"Aaaand now he's on fire." Both children wore sweatdrops as he suddenly burst into flames.

"How did he do that?"

"Who the hell knows. I personally think he spontaneously combusts."

And just like that, the tension that they two had built up was destroyed by this ridiculous fool.

"Who's gonna put him out."

"I don't know."

"Maybe we should throw him in the ocean."

"Can't, he can't swim."

"Damn." Kikyo cupped her hands around her mouth. "Tomoe! Come put out a fire!"

"A fi—oh son of a bitch!" The ever helpful kunoichi stomped over and kicked dirt on the idiot to smother the flames, all the while muttering something about not being meant to put _out_ fires.

"Thank you," he replied, halfway out of breath.

Those were the oddest first few weeks Kikyo had ever experienced. These people, these _Outsiders_ , they were all so _fucking_ weird. The clown man, Corazon, he was some kind of walking accident just waiting to happen. He would simply be walking or talking and he would stumble over air or catch fire spontaneously, or both, like he was cursed to be this horrendous klutz for the frustration (Tomoe) and amusement (Kikyo) of those around him. Law on the other hand was dark, gloomy, and dry in comparison to his traveling companion, personally he got on her fucking nerves. The boy had told her that he had spent three years as a pirate, stealing treasure, taking down other pirates, and learning to fight with guns and swords, but he still always came up short in their little matches.

Kikyo tossed the bokken in her right hand over to Law. "Try not to die too quickly this time. I need a training partner, not a punching bag."

"Stupid, I don't die."

"If they were real swords you would." Damn you Tomoe and your 'let's not kill the terminally ill kid'.

"Fine then." He pointed the wooden blade. "I'll treat it like one and cut you in half." A mean smirk spread across his face.

"Oh yeah, because this will end _so_ differently than it normally does."

"I know it will because I'm older, smarter, and I had Tomoe show me few new things."

"How stupid are you?" Kikyo threw her head back and laughed. "You're one cocky bastard, aren't you? Tomoe's been training me since I was _six_ , you really think one little lesson on how to properly hold a sword compares to three years of hard training?!" Granted the majority of those three years were basically Kikyo showing up at Tomoe's house and getting her ass kicked, but Law didn't know that.

Kikyo swung her bokken at the boy, hoping maybe to get a splinter stuck in his head. Unfortunately, though, Law ducked and weaved just out of the reach of her next blow. "You know what the difference in that is?" He jabbed his sword out and Kikyo bent backwards to avoid its edge. She felt the irritated nerves in her back pop and sharp pain begin to spread from the hyperextended muscles to the rest of her back. "I can actually listen to her." He gripped it with both hands and swung down. Kikyo rolled and bit down on her tongue when the rough surface skidded against the angry scar.

God fucking fuck ass shit damn! He never fucking hurt her before! Never fucking ever! "Doesn't matter," she growled through clenched teeth as a spasm jerked her back. Fucking midget, she'd end this fast. "I'm still going to kick your scrawny ass." She swung, smacking the wooden sword into his arm.

"You damn bitch!" He brought his weapon around only this time Kikyo pared it, much to her muscles' dismay.

No, she wouldn't call the match. Her fucking body would just have to suck it up!

The wooden edges slid and separated. Kikyo went low and Law leapt out of the way before rolling and lashing out at her ankles. She thrust her bokken down to block his assault on her legs.

 _Crack, crack, crack!_ The sound of the smacking weapons became harsher and louder as each one became more and more frustrated.

Kikyo lunged and swung the sword with as much strength as she could muster. The wooden sword made another _crack_ sound, but it wasn't the other bokken it had smacked, it was Law's head. She landed just past the boy, her fake sword nearly broken in two.

"Why you..?!"

"There, that should end—

Something hard and sharp crashed into the center of her back. It wasn't wood, or at least it didn't feel like it. It felt like she was beaten with a white hot metal rod with nails coming out the end. The blow never left the surface of her skin, but she felt as though it cut straight through her like butter.

The pain spread like the lightning that the pain mimicked. Sharp, hot, and electric. Her entire body was an exposed nerve and even the wind felt like cauterized needles digging under her skin.

Kikyo didn't remember screaming, she didn't remember seeing Tomoe or Law, she didn't even remember seizing before hitting the ground. It was like in that instant the entire world blacked out and all that was left was her agony.

 **A/N: Happy birthday to Kikyo**


	12. A Country

The pain that had come in an instant overtook Kikyo. She felt fire run through her veins and lightning strike her nerves as each second passed. Her body jerked and seized as she wanted to cry out for it all to stop. How much longer would it last?! Where was Tomoe?! Why wasn't she helping her?! Surely she could see, surely she could hear! She had to know that the girl felt like she was dying!

But no one was helping, the pain just continued to flow on and on like an endless river in hell. She would gasp for air, only to have the pain knock it right back out of her once again. Please, someone, just end it! Use the kunai! Put her down! Just _stop_ the pain!

After what felt like years, her pain finally began to slowly ease. There would be times where her vision went from the black haze of agony to blurry surroundings and sometimes she would even hear talking or other noises over her heart pounding in her ears. Eventually though, things began to come back into focus and the girl wanted to cry over the first person that she saw over her.

"Tomoe…" Her voice was raspy and cracked as the word escaped from her mouth. The kunoichi looked tired and was sitting over her crushing something in a pestle. "Tomoe…" Her voice cracked again as warm liquid brimmed the edge of her eye. She didn't want to look weak, but she just hurt so much.

The exhausted Tadashi snapped her head at the sound of her name. "Kid, you're awake." She slowly reached out and set her hand down on the top of the girl's head. "Try not to move or it might act up again." There was an odd softness in the normally harsh kunoichi's voice. "It's gonna be alright, Runt." Tomoe picked up a small bag filled with some sort on liquid and placed it on the back of the girl's neck.

Kikyo let out a yelp as the sudden cold sensation seeped down into her neck from the bag, but after a second the cold bag of whatever it was felt like a breath of fresh air.

"Geez, kid." Tomoe placed several other bags on her back, sending a rush of coolness into the enflamed scar.

"What's in these?" she croaked.

Tomoe's face remained tense. "Something that'll help with the fever… a little. I'm trying to keep your core as stable as I can." The look on her face said that it was more easily said than done.

"Tomoe, how long…?"

"Four days."

Only four days?! It felt like years to her?! "Tomoe… wha… happened?" All the girl could remember was the searing pain and maybe some screaming, but that was more an assumption than anything.

Her face grew dark. "That little shit head, Law, thought it would be a fun strategy to swing his bokken into your back."

"Law…?" It took the girl a second to remember their traveling companions.

"Yeah." Her jaw was tight. "Don't worry about that right now, just try and do your best to relax."

The girl felt several muscles knot and snap like rubber bands. Her stomach lurched from the pain. That was _so_ much more easily said than done. She flinched.

"I know, kid." Tomoe basically read her mind. She set another watch pouch on the back of her leg where the scar wrapped around it.

"Does yours… do this?" She grimaced from another spasm.

"It used to."

"Was it this bad?"

"Oh hell no." Tomoe let out a humorless chuckle.

"Did it… get better?"

The kunoichi chewed on her cheek. "A bit. I think I just got so used to the pain that my tolerance for it went up."

"Did you ever... let someone hit it... like that?" Kikyo laid with her face in the ground, so embarrassed she let this happen. She exposed herself, left everything wide open once again and paid for it. If Law had been a _real_ enemy she would have been dead before she could even say 'shit'.

"There was an unfortunate instance or two where I found out how an impact would affect the wound."

"And?" Kikyo took more careful breaths, hoping it would anger the wound a little less.

"And I promise you I watched that place a lot more carefully after that."

No shit. "Yeah, I need to… learn that."

"You got a lot more to watch, Runt."

"Yeah." She rested her head back down on her arms. "It'd be... easier if I were a... Hyuga." She wished her lungs would cooperate long enough to form a normal sentence.

"Bah!" For the first time since she woke up, Tomoe showed a hint of humor in her voice that sounded like the good ole Tomoe that Kikyo liked to cuss out. "But then you'd be a stuffy bitch with a stick stuck up her ass. Pretty big price to pay just for being able to see behind you. Totally not worth it in my opinion."

"Maybe." She frowned. "Maybe a sensory ninja?"

"Ain't that easy kid. Sensory shinobi are born, not made. Granted, once a shinobi gets to a certain degree they do pick up some detection methods."

The girl sighed. Ow, mistake, _big_ mistake! "What degree?" she was able to mutter.

"A very high one."

"Oh." Meaning she was fucked. She flinched again. "How long before…" she tailed off.

"Who knows, another day or two probably." Tomoe finished crushing her mystery substance and added it to a canteen. "Here, drink it all."

"What… is it?"

"Some pain killers from the Outside that we don't have back home they might help until we can get some food in you."

"Tomoe…" she complained. Food was the last thing from her mind right now.

"It's been days, kid. You need something in you."

"But Tomoe…" Sweat dripped down her face from the fever and her stomach lurched at the thought of food. "I'll throw it back up."

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Tomoe sloshed the canteen around, encouraging the girl to take it.

Kikyo groaned as the older Tadashi carefully lifted her to a sitting position. Her back muscles twisted and snapped, punishing her for the movement. "Should I drink it all?" she wondered. "Or swig as needed?" She eyed the bottle.

"Drink it all like it's medicine—"

"—It kind of is."

"—Shut up. As I was saying, I would find it highly unlikely that you could overdose, especially with the amount I gave you, and I want to see how much of the edge this stuff can take off."

"Alright." She _really_ hoped it didn't taste like shit.

"Tomoe-san! We brought back some—" a somewhat familiar voice called before a crashing sound echoed around them.

"What a fucking moron." Tomoe's narrowed eyes took on an even more hateful look than normal.

"You didn't drop it did you?" another voice asked.

"No, Law, it's safe. See!" Another crash.

"Just give me the fish!" he snapped back before coming into Kikyo's line of sight. Under one arm Law was carrying a pile of wood while the other held up several fish. "The idiot is going to starve us all." The boy sighed before laying down the wood.

"You two... still here?" Kikyo inquired after a large gulp. She had figured since she was out for four days and couldn't be moved that the two would have gone on without them. They probably only stayed because Tomoe promised to cure Law of his poison.

"Oh hey, you're awake." Law sat down cross legged and gave her an odd look.

"Wow, good job stating the obvious." She took another large gulp and felt her limbs numb a little. She peeked around the bottle, waiting for his snarky return only to be met with silence.

"Is this all you two could catch?" Tomoe asked the boy shortly.

"Without Corazon falling in the ocean again? Yes."

The kunoichi scoffed. "How fucking pathetic." Ouch Tomoe, and here she thought Tomoe's nature type was fire, not ice.

"Sorry, but it was the best we could manage." Law leaned back and crossed his arms, seemingly unphased by the coldness.

"Oh my goodness! Kikyo-chan! I'm so gl—" With a single eyebrow twitch followed the chucking of her canteen, the stupid fucking clown was knocked off his feet once more from the force of being smacked in the face by a child's canteen.

"I thought I told—ow, ow, ow…" The muscles in her left arm contracted and burned.

"You shouldn't have thrown that." Tomoe added curtly as she put on a pot to boil for some rice.

"Yes… thank you for the insight…Tomoe." The girl slumped down onto her stomach again.

"So you're still in pretty bad shape, huh?" Law asked.

Her ever so enlightening reply was a groan from within the dirt.

"Cora-kun."

"Yes?" The blonde clown sat up, the red imprint of the canteen still on his face.

"Come here and show me the map." She ushered and the man complied, unrolling a parchment as Law worked on skewering the fish and placing it in the fire.

"When will she be able to move again?" he asked, glancing back at the girl.

"A few more days, but now that she's conscious I can carry her."

"Meaning that we can head somewhere else." Relief washed over the man's face. "Maybe we can get her to a hospital."

"No use in that, now that the worst of the flare is over I can handle it. But we are in serious need of supplies." Tomoe traced her fingers over the map, scanning for something near their location.

"You couldn't be more right. I suggest we head here." He pointed to a part of the map. "Lynveel Kingdom. It's a big country with a very good economy and many ports. Supplies will be easy and cheap to come by there."

"But Cora-kun, what about this one right here?" Tomoe lifted an eyebrow. "If we have a good tail wind then it's just about half a day's journey."

The man paled and sweat covered his entire head. "N-n-no-no-no, Tomoe-san! That is a very bad idea! Monako Island isn't a very good place to visit right now."

"Why?" She shot him a bitchy glare and lifted her eyebrow, daring him to correct her.

"Aside from hazardous weather being a constant threat to the island, the country has been at war recently and the government has just been overthrown by an invading kingdom! I don't think it would be safe, especially for the children!"

"I'm not a child," both proclaimed simultaneously.

"Sure you're not." Kikyo couldn't tell which one Tomoe was waving off. "Cora-kun, that's stupid. The island you're suggesting it twice the distance and we're low on supplies as is."

"But this kingdom." He shook his head, looking nervous. "Their… it's… Calling them a country is a little bit of a stretch considering they move around. It's more like a mobile military with the general being their king. Most of their citizens are soldiers that were trained since they were children and on top of all that their technology is astounding. The Marines can't do anything about them because they are a country that's part of the World Government so they can go around and conquer whichever country they take a liking to."

Tomoe looked at him so a long moment. "And…"

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?!" His eyes popped out of his head.

"No, I heard you… I'm just not seeing the point."

"DO YOU NEED GLASSES?!"

"Cora-kun, let me lay it out for you. I was raised in a militarized country. I am a soldier. I have fought in war. I am not afraid of these people." She spoke slowly as though he were a child. "And if their technology is so superior I want to check them out. And you should too, considering if they are more scientifically minded that they could help Law."

Kikyo furrowed her brow. But, Tomoe was helping Law. She thought they were over the whole hospital stuff now considering Tomoe had told her last week she had made some progress on the components of the poison.

"But…"

"Listen, if you want to pussy out then fine, just drop us off at the island and leave, but their closer and I can't risk pushing Kikyo's body any further with a long journey on a boat."

"I…" He glanced from Law to Kikyo, then back to Tomoe. "You're right, Tomoe-san. The children are the main priority. We'll just have to take extra care of them while there."

"I'm glad you see that I'm always right."

"You're not always right," Kikyo muttered with a frown.

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Kikyo, how would you like it if I smacked you right in your smart mouth?"

"Does it matter if I like it or not? You do it anyway." Maybe if she hit her hard enough it would knock out one of the nine-year-old's loose teeth.

The kunoichi swiftly backhanded the girl. "It's good to see you're feeling better, Runt." She smiled and pulled their dinner from the fire.

Even after having a full night to recover and Tomoe dosing her up with who the fuck even knows, Kikyo could still feel searing pain that continuously shot through her body as the little ship they shared with the two Outsiders cut through every wave.

"Focus, Kikyo." Tomoe patted the book she had the girl studying.

"I'm… trying…!" A spasm shot through her arm and she dropped her pen.

"Try harder. Just because you're a little sore doesn't mean you can slack on studies."

A little sore… THERE IS NO FUCKING WAY TOMOE JUST CALLED THIS 'A LITTLE SORE'! She was unconscious for _days_! That fucking bitch!

"Here." She handed her the bottle of medicine for the girl to chug. "Now, get back to it." She tapped the paper again.

She glared down at the equations that converted between true, magnetic, and compass north. She wanted to bark at the kunoichi and ask why the hell she needed to learn something like this now, but being able to navigate oneself is crucial when taking on missions in unfamiliar lands. It would be pretty damn embarrassing if a tracker ninja got lost while hunting down a target.

"Tomoe-san couldn't be more right." The clown agreed as he adjusted the sails. "With a world filled with so much ocean, being able to navigate yourself could mean the difference between life and death. Aside from the normal dangers of the ocean, there are many strange anomalies out there."

"Strange anomalies you say?" Tomoe lifted an eyebrow and wore her 'Outsiders are so easy to get talking ' face.

"Oh of course. I've already told you about some of the dangerous countries such as the one we're _about to walk into_." Did she sense a bit of bitterness in his voice? Yeah, probably. "There's the Grand Line where everything's topsy turvy and nothing makes any sense, the Calm Belt which is greatly unexplored because of the lack of wind currents, even some of the Blues have scary characteristics." The tall man adjusted the rudder.

"Oi, you're talking about the Dead Zone, right, Corazon?" Law asked.

"Dead Zone? Sounds like a fun vacation spot. Can we go, Tomoe? Can we-can we?" Kikyo mocked a child's plea.

"Oooooh no! You do _not_ want that, Kikyo-ch…" He paused at her aiming her pen at him like a dart. Go on, say it. Give her a reason to poke out an eye. "Kikyo. I've never seen it myself, but I've heard stories." The idiot wiggled his fingers for a spooky effect. "It's this vast expansion of fog that spreads over a good part of the East Blue and even reaches into its Calm Belt. Storms rage and visibility drops to near zero once entering and as if that wasn't bad enough, there's a giant sea king that's said to guard the area like it's his territory. Sailors have said that they have heard noises coming from the fog. Any who enter are attack by the sea king." He stood up and raised his hands high. "It rises from the water in the form of a giant, three tailed turtle and says ' **You dare invade my water, puny humans?!'** before destroying any vessel in its way!" He swung his arms down, mimicking the motion. "And ships are nev—AHHH!"

Wow… it took him a whole monologue for his klutzy ass to fall overboard. If nothing else, Kikyo was impressed by the new record.

"Son of a fucking bitch, Cora-kun!" Tomoe's hand shot into the water before his bubbles could stop and pulled him back aboard.

"Man Corazon, you're so lame…" Law wore a sweatdrop.

"You're just now realizing that after… how many times has he fallen today?"

"Are we counting the times he set himself on fire in the process?" Tomoe lifted an eyebrow as a little fountain of water erupted from his mouth.

"Sure, why not."

"Sorry. I'm only paid to count that high when bodies are involved."

"He has a body."

"Not a dead one."

"You could change that."

"Maybe after we have lunch."

"Okay."

"That's horrible." Law crossed his arms. "Why waste the food on someone you're about to kill?"

"It's like comforting the lamb before you slit its throat." Tomoe pointed. "You show the lamb the knife and it begins to panic, its panic taints the meat. So don't show it the knife."

"Stop discussing my death as though I'm not here!" Corazon exclaimed.

"Okay, we'll just discuss it when you're out of earshot, Cora-kun." Tomoe gave him a fake smile and the clown face faulted.

Kikyo watched as the island came into view as the little ship grew near. The island didn't look particularly bad or damaged, but it didn't exactly look like the perfect vacation spot either. The girl could spot an enormous indistinct blob not terribly far from the shore, that must have been the invading country that the clown was talking about. And, it was either above or right behind the island, a pitch black storm cloud rose high into the sky, blocking any light that went might have gotten past the island.

"You see what I mean now?" Corazon pointed. "I'm not even sure the island's residents enjoy living here."

"Well if they didn't before, they sure as hell don't now." Tomoe eyed the blob floating off the coast.

"I can't argue with you there, Tomoe-san." The other adult shook his head.

"Alright, you three are to stay near the boat." Tomoe pointed when they came ashore.

"Why?" Kikyo frowned. She didn't like the thought of being alone with so much stupid around her.

"Because, Runt." Tomoe slung her on her back as the others moved their supplies onto the shore. "You can't move worth shit right now and it would _slightly_ be a pain in the ass to be carrying you around while infiltrating a country."

"Then I should go too, Tomoe-san. I know the North Blue countries better than you do."

"No, I move faster on my own. Besides." Her eyes darted to the two young ones. "I want a mediator here incase these two try and kill each other again." Shit, Kikyo could _feel_ the icy glare the kunoichi shot at Law. "If it seems safe then I'll come back and everyone can go to the market."

"Oh… alright then. I suppose we'll see you… and she's gone…" Tomoe disappeared in a cloud of smoke before the clown could even finish his sentence. Well, that was quick, maybe they were driving Tomoe crazy too. Maybe her solo trip into the town was more for a few minutes of peace and quiet than scouting out.

"So, what was with that Tomoe Death Beam that she shot you?" Kikyo asked Law as he sat on the ground as well.

She watched the boy furrow his brow. "Tomoe and I… aren't on the best of terms. I'm certain she wants to kill me."

"Ptf," she scoffed back and laid on her stomach. "Tomoe doesn't want to kill you. You're being overdramatic."

"Y—"

"Look at this, kids!" the clown had taken off his feathery cloak and held his hands out. "I can make anything I interact with to not make any noise! _Calm_!" He patted his own chest and an odd fog-like substance surrounded him.

"What does he think he's doing?"

"I think… he's trying…" They watched the blonde smash a glass vase only to have no sound come out. "To entertain us." They both shared deadpans at the clown's stupid happy face.

"Where did that gun come from?"

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about it." There wasn't even the smallest racket from what should have been an explosion.

"What kind of kekkei genkai is that?"

"A what?" Law averted his eyes away from the soundless show.

"A bloodline trait that runs in families. It gives them special abilities like controlling shadows or doujutsu."

"What? No. Corazon doesn't have anything like that." A horrible smell filled the air.

"Tell me he didn't…" Kikyo pulled her shirt up to her nose. "As soon as I can move again, his head is coming off."

"See? Isn't that cool?!" The idiot finally spoke again, a wide smile was spread across his face.

"What is that ability good for?!" Law barked back. "It's not even cool!" Verbal stab wounds covered the blond man's chest.

"No, it's useful. A shinobi would find it valuable." One of the stab marks lifted. "But such a skill is wasted on a klutzy fool like him." And they returned with friends. The sad clown fell to the ground, face first. "Anyway." She rolled her eyes. "Like I was saying, you're being overdramatic. Tomoe's not going to kill you, fuck, she even trying to find a cure for your poison." Dumbass. Tomoe was guilty of being a pain in the ass bitch, but she promised to look into the boy's poison and so far she's never went back on her word.

"Not anymore," he muttered.

"Come on, just be—"

"She told me so." He frowned down at her. "It was because I hurt you that she's not going to help me anymore," he said in a somber tone.

"What? No, I'll talk to her about it and everything will be fine."

"How come you're so forgiving? I nearly killed you. It's because of me that you were in such a delicate state for four entire days."

Kikyo rested her chin back on her arms and thought about it. "It wasn't really all your fault. You didn't know how bad it really was and while it was a real dick move, I feel like it's more my fault than anyone's for not being able to watch my own back." She paused as a muscle in her leg twisted and snapped like a rubber band. "This has shown me that if someone wanted to get the upper hand in a fight or even to kill me, that's all they'd have to do." She rubbed her right wrist. "If I want to live, I'll have to get stronger, a lot stronger."


	13. Another Outside

"Alright, I'm back. Anyone dead?" Tomoe's voice sounded as the kunoichi materialized from nowhere. She glanced down with a deadpan at the still down clown. "Damn, you kids take things too literal. I was joking when I said we should kill him."

"He did that to himself."

"Still, you should have stopped him."

"Oh yes, because I'm such the speedster right now."

"Don't make excuses."

"Who the hell said I was making excuses?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"I did, you dumb little bitch, and I'm always right."

"You two do know he's not actually dead, right," Law pointed out.

Both Tadashi exchanged annoyed glances.

"He ruined the fun."

"I know he did, Runt. I guess it's just his thing." Tomoe shot the thirteen-year old an icy glare before kicking the large blonde clown. "Oi, Cora-kun, get up. It's clear to head in."

"It's what?" The clown still looked pouty as he rolled over and sat up.

"Half the invading country is shut down, if there was ever a time to go without conflict it would be now."

"Conflict?" He glanced off to the northeast where a town was likely located.

"Oh no, we're not going there." Tomoe placed her hand on his head and adjusted it to where it was facing the blob that was floating just off the island.

"WHAT?! TOMOE-SAN, NO!" Wow, Kikyo thought his eyes only popped out like that when she told him to go fuck himself.

"Cora-kun, yes."

He desperately pointed back to the island they were on. "But-but-but, the country—"

"Is in shambles, Cora-kun. The invading country basically pillaged their new subjects," she scoffed. "Our best bet is to hope that the invaders have an economy besides pirating." The kunoichi pulled the young Tadashi onto her back. "You can stay here or leave if you want, but I need to get these supplies."

"I—but—" He glanced at Law.

"Don't look at me for guidance. Tomoe mentioned that they may be less superstitious here and considering their advances in technology I would bet they have made astounding medical advances. I'm not passing up this chance for a cure."

"I-I…"

"Bye, Cora-kun," Tomoe called as she finally gave up and began walking.

"W-wait!" There was a sound of rapid foot fall before there was a distinct thud.

"I am so sick of these idiots," Tomoe mumbled under her breath and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Tomoe, how did you finish your scouting so quickly?" Law asked. "It'll take us just as long to cross over to the floating country as it did for you to leave and come back? You didn't half-ass it, did you?"

"You dumbass." Kikyo pointed her finger at him. "The only thing Tomoe half-asses is her sword making." She nodded at the accurate defense.

A tick mark popped atop the kunoichi's head. "You want me to drop you, Runt?" She glanced back and the girl could see her eyebrow twitching. "And I don't owe you any explanation, Runt #2, I'm a shinobi and I don't have to share my fucking methods with an ignorant brat."

The boy mumbled something that would most likely have gotten him bitch slapped had Tomoe had heard whatever the fuck it was.

"You're so stupid, Law, shinobi have an entire arsenal of techniques to gather information. It would take all day to cover even half."

"With abilities like that, it's surprising that a ninja hasn't destroyed the world."

"Dumbass, that would be harder than you think considering how many shinobi there are."

"But if it's done right, destroying the world is particularly easy."

"Only after a while."

"How so?" He crossed his arms and gave her a skeptical look.

"Well, you gotta take out the leaders, but to do that you have to take out the top of their military first so that their armed forces are unorganized. In doing that you also get rid of the strongest opponents. Then, kill their leaders so that the people are in a frenzied panic. From there it's easy pickings and you can use whatever you feel like."

"Ptf!" he scoffed. "No, idiot, if you want to do that then start with all the doctors. Then they can't heal their injured. Once they're all gone, you're free to begin biological warfare. Leak it into water supplies and they're done."

"And if you get sick?"

"I would have my own cure before even doing it."

"No you wouldn't, you suck."

"No I don't!"

"Aren't you afraid you catch it?" Her lips twitched up.

"SHUT UP!"

"Besides, wouldn't killing all the doctors be bad for someone like you who can get sick? What if you get seriously injured?"

"I could take care of myself. I know a lot about medicine."

"But what if you can't? What if it's a terribly crippling injury. How the hell are you going to operate on yourself if you lose something like your right arm? You better fucking learn to ambidextrous before you kill off the real doctors."

"Oh, like your method is so much more effective!"

"It is. You get the problem out of the way quickly and then you can just blow everyone else up. You leave nothing behind so you don't have to deal with disposing of rotting corpses."

"STOP! You're children!" The clown was completely appalled. "You shouldn't be talking about such morbid things!"

"We're not talking, we're arguing, get your shit straight, Corazon." Law rolled his eyes. By now an enormous moving island that sat on a large series that must have been spherical flotation devices was in full view and a gigantic ramp which must have been used in the siege was down, leading from the beach to the edge of the country. The pathway was littered with tire tracks, mud, and something that smell and looked suspiciously like blood. When hearing about this country, Kikyo figured they would have been heading for some kind of giant fleet, but this place looked more like a city than a fleet of warships. The civilization was composed of many stone buildings and towers in an architecture that was very different from anything they had in the Elemental Nations. In the center was an enormous series of stone towers that connected high above all the rest. Was that a castle? Its design was so weird.

"Tomoe-san! Talk some sense into them!"

"I was just about to." She cleared her voice. "Both of you runts are going about this the wrong way." She wiggled her finger. "There's a peaceful way and a destructive way to do this. The peaceful way is slow and steady. You act all nice, seem like you're their friend, all the meanwhile you verbally tear down any leader who opposes you, make it seem like they're the problem. Meanwhile, you come across as this great hero, a savior. That way whenever someone dares go against you; their own people will turn on them. When that happens enough, even those who do disagree with you will remain silent due to the fear of a coup de ta.

"And then there's the tyrannical way where you become a complete dictator and seize the power through fear and weapons. You rise above all the others and execute your competition publicly. That path is much quicker and much bloodier. It also has a higher risk of being overthrown by the people that serve you."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" The blonde clown was foaming at the mouth.

"Yeah, we weren't talking about taking over the world, Tomoe." Kikyo frowned. "Who would want that job? We were arguing over the best way to destroy it."

"Oh? In that case—"

"TOMOE-SAN?!" His foaming and hysteria caused the clown to trip again.

"—The easiest way would be to start with the doctors, or at least the ones that aren't on your side."

"Ha!" Law pointed and laughed.

"Once the doctors are done, then you assault the political leaders. But, from there the reigns open up." They were at the end of the ramp and on the edge of the country's city.

"So, you would kill the leaders before disorganizing their militaries?" she asked.

"I think in the process of eliminating them you'd have to face the militaries anyway. If someone attacked the Daimyo, don't you think you'd have to kill their guards anyway?"

"But if I just kill the guards and the Daimyo, then I'd have to deal with the 4th, and if the Daimyo is already dead then I have no leverage."

"Let me finish, geez. You attack the political leaders which disrupts their organization – especially if they weren't well liked. New leaders will attempt to take power which will cause internal strife. Meanwhile you deal with those who are actually threatening while everyone debates on what to do next. From there, you just have fun. Alternatively, you can frame those who are threatening for the murder and let them deal with each other."

"Okay, I think I get it. In the chaos, we have a lot more freedom to use different methods."

"Just choose your methods carefully."

"You sound way too enlightened in methods to destroy the world," Law proclaimed.

"Oi, when you been in the military as long as I have, you pick up on how things are run and how the cracks in the system work."

"All of you… you're horrible…" Blue lines covered the clown's head.

"Get off your fucking pity pot, Cora-kun. Every kid plots to destroy the world once in their lives."

"What kind of children are you around?!"

Tomoe lifted an eyebrow and pointed to her back. The nine-year-old took the opportunity to give the clown and evil smirk, hoping it might give him nightmares.

"Alright." Tomoe clapped to make sure she was the center of attention. "Since Cora-kun is such a whiny bitch, we're going to split into two groups in order to speed up the shopping process." Tomoe handed the clown and terminal midget a small piece of paper before sending them down a street.

"That was a little unexpected," Kikyo stated as Tomoe carried her down a different path. "Aren't you afraid they'll mess it up if one of us isn't there?"

"No." From her shoulder, Kikyo could see the older Tadashi's sharp Ryugan scanning the environment. "If they fuck up then they'll be screwing themselves."

"And us," she reminded her.

"No."

"No? What the hell do you mean no?" Had Tomoe become delirious?

"We, as in you and I, are leaving after we have our supplies."

"What?!" Her grip tightened. "Listen, I know their stupid, but they have a boat! And you told the midget you would find a cure for his poison!"

"Kikyo—"

"If this is about you being pissed at him for having to take care of me then that's dumb!"

"Kikyo—"

"You said ninja help people too! Are you going back on your word?!"

"Tadashi Kikyo!" she barked loudly. "You're so fucking impatient!" she growled. "Would you fucking let me speak?!"

"If this is some dumbass excuse—"

"I can't cure it."

"—For aban… what…?" Her face dropped. Did Tomoe just say that she couldn't do something?

"I can't find a cure for the poison, I've tried over a hundred combinations for an antidote, but it's practically imbedded in his cells. There's nothing I can do about it." Her face fell even more. Tomoe never said things like that, was she making it up? Was she lying so she wouldn't have to travel with those two idiots again? Was she doing it so Law would die? "Don't give me that look, Runt." Tomoe scowled back over her shoulder. "I came to the conclusion about a week ago. I was waiting for the right time to say it when…" She ground her teeth.

"But Tomoe…" How could she give up?

"Sorry, Runt, but it's over and done with." She turned to face the road. "Besides, it's time to move on." Her eyes darted to dark, stormy clouds that rolled over the edge of the doomed country. "Shinobi must always put their mission above their own wants and needs."

Kikyo stared. The mission? "Is it like the other storm?" But that sounded stupid. How could there be two Outsides? Were the teleportation jutsu storms really all that common? It had barely been two months since they came to the Outside!

Tomoe nodded. "When we leave here, that's where we'll be going."

"Doesn't it need to be inspected first?"

"It is, along with the rest of this and the other country."

"It is? H…" The young kunoichi-to-be pursed her lips. There was no way in hell she would sit through another shadow clone lecture. "How much have you seen?"

"This country is congregating in the city square for something so nicking a few files here and there isn't too difficult."

Tomoe was right, the country was congregating, they had to be because half of the places the two stopped was either already closed or closing for the day, doubling in the amount of time it took for them to gather supplies.

"Come on, Runt." Tomoe picked the child up once more after she had finished sealing what rations they _could_ get ahold of in her scroll. "Let's go see what all the buzz is about."

"Isn't it bad to go to a crowded place?" Tomoe was basically ransacking this country's information from the shadows and she wanted to go to some big party thing?!

"Not if you know how to do it right," she replied with a smirk, insinuating that she knew how to do just that. Kikyo watched as Tomoe flawlessly merged them into a large group a people and were basically led to whatever the hell this was.

"Hey!" The clown called excitedly with bags in his hands.

"Oh joy." Tomoe didn't sound very joyful. Maybe she was hoping to lose them for good when they separated for the shopping.

"I was wondering when we'd find you guys! I guess you got swept up in this big crowd too, right?" He smiled widely and his cigarette caught his feather coat on fire.

"Yep, not going to miss having to deal with that." Tomoe had a sweatdrop.

Kikyo scanned the bags. "Your haul looks a little skimpy, doesn't it?" The pair only had four begs between them."

"This was all we could get before Corazon was practically thrown out of a store by the manager. He totally chewed him out for grocery shopping when such an important event was today."

"What's the event?" Maybe Law had heard something about it.

"Who knows, we got what we need and now we can leave," the clown commented. He turned to leave when Tomoe let out a sharp whistle. She lifted an eyebrow and gestured to the front.

"Hey! Why—"

"Sh!" Tomoe gave him a warning glare and gestured once again to a high stage where a man had walked up to a microphone. Behind him was a two-story high portrait of a little blonde haired boy, smiling gladly in the picture.

The man then began to speak of how he was killed in an accident and what a tragedy it was for their country and how he was a pillar blah, blah, blah. Man, if the kid was the leader's son and they lost him in an accident, Kikyo would bet Hogoken that someone had to have gotten fired or killed in the process. She laid there, gripping Tomoe's back as the grown shinobi stood quietly and listened to the memorial service.

"Who's dead? I can't see?" Law said from the ground.

"It's a kid about our age."

"Our age? I'm older than you."

"But you look ten, midget, so I'm including you."

"Shut the fuck up!" Tomoe hissed at the other three. "Show some fucking respect for the dead!" She then mumbled about them being raised in barns or something like that. What did she care? She didn't know the kid or anything, so why did it bother her?

Kikyo sighed, if Tomoe was doing it then there had to be some reason for it. Or at least that's what she'd think if she hadn't just _given up_ on helping the terminal midget so that he wouldn't be terminal anymore! But, there was nowhere the nine-year-old could go and skulk around at the moment because of her physical condition, so she sat patiently and tried to do as Tomoe said and be respectful of the dead kid who apparently didn't have someone to take _his_ kunai away… but she got bored. Her eyes and mind began to wonder and noticed a few odd things about this country. First, there were sixes _everywhere_ , clothes, flags, and some even had tattoos of the number. Another thing, so many of the people in this country looked the same, like, _exactly_ the same! Either they wanted the kid to seem more popular with using multiple clones to improve the crowd mass… or there were some seriously dangerous levels of incest in the country.

The memorial must have ended or decided to take a break because people began to depart and Tomoe moved on as well.

"Alright, now, let's head back to the ship. I'd rather spend the night sailing than anywhere near this place." The clown unrolled his map after they had exited the mobile island and were back on solid ground. "Plus, we can get a head start for the next island."

"Actually, Cora-kun, I was meaning to talk to you about that." Tomoe sat Kikyo down by a tree and ushered for the two adults to talk in private. Why did adults always do that? Kikyo and Law were both as fucked up as they came, what the hell could they possibly have to hide from them?

"You two are leaving." Law sat down as well.

"Yep." She popped the 'p'. "I tried to talk to her about the poison thing, but she told me there was nothing more she could do." The feeling of annoyance filled her chest. "I can't believe she would just give up on it so easily, it's so unlike her. I thought she was, if nothing else, stubborn enough to not let something get the better of her. I think she's using it as an excuse so we can leave." Why else would Tomoe say she couldn't do something? She was supposed to be this amazing shinobi that… _"… Not that anyone was surprised. Fuck up Tomoe had fucked up again…"_ She sighed, right, she was putting Tomoe on too high a pedestal again. Kikyo wondered how hard it was for her to admit that she couldn't do something about the terminal midget's poison problem. It was easy to forget sometimes that Tomoe couldn't do something because it seemed like she could do _everything_ so much better than other people, especially Kikyo.

"I wasn't really expecting any results anyway. My father was the greatest doctor in our country and he worked for months, fruitlessly trying to find a cure, if he couldn't do it then I didn't put much faith in someone who wasn't a true doctor." He pulled his knees in and scratched one of the white bruises on his cheek. "But she was willing to do more than anyone else was and for that I'm grateful."

She scowled. "I think you'd be a lot more grateful if she actually did something."

"Again I state, she did a lot more than everyone else."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Where are the two of you going to head next? Are you going to steal a ship or something and head your own way?"

"Honestly?" Kikyo glanced at the not-terribly-distant dark clouds. "I have no fucking clue."

"I suppose there's no delaying this then." Law dug in his pocket and pulled out a small leather wristlet. "Corazon told me I had to apologize and be nice." He held the wristlet out, his eyebrow twitching.

She glanced at the small accessory. "And because you're a rude, angry little midget, you would rather present me with a token of peace instead of actually saying it and having to wash the taste of apology out of your mouth later."

"Glad we've come to an understanding." He nodded, accepting the truth.

"Hold on, I didn't say I would accept your shitty gift."

"Bitch."

She snatched the wristlet and tied it on her right wrist. It was simple and comfortable and even covered the scar from her kunai. "But seeing as the clown was jumping down your throat about it, I'll pretend to accept so that everyone will shut the fuck up about it and throw your shitty peace offering in the trash later." She sneered, feeling good enough to let some bitchiness out.

"Tch, whatever. I don't fucking care anyway," he snarked back.

Kikyo saw the adults walking back to where they were sitting. "Good luck on your cure, midget."

"Yeah, you too, crippled bitch," he scoffed.

"Alright, Runt." Tomoe had returned to pull the nine-year-old onto her back. "We don't have much light left so we better go while we can."

"Fine," she huffed from her guardian's shoulder.

"Good-bye Tomoe-san! Good-bye Kikyo!" The clown waved from beside Law.

"Bye, Kikyo- _chan_!" Law yelled in the most mocking tone the young kunoichi-to-be had ever fucking heard.

…

… Oh, that cheeky little son of a bitch. "Tomoe, put me down." Tick marks covered her head. She'd rip his fucking tongue out for thinking that he could talk to her like she was a fucking child!

"You can't move kid."

"THEN FUCKING THROW ME!" she snapped. "Aim for the head," she said in a much lower and more sinister tone. "I can strangle him from there." Fucking midget thought he could get away with it after she beat the shit out of the clown for doing it? He fucking thought wrong!

"As fun as that sounds, I would have to go back and get you aaaand I really don't feel like doing that, especially when we're just now getting some fucking distance."

"But—!" She glared back at his fucking pompous-ass face.

"You can always have faith in his painful death."

The girl glanced back at the two figures that were quickly diminishing in size. "Yeah." She nodded. "You fucking midget! You better hope that poison kills you! If not, you're going to wish it did!" She managed to hold her middle finger high in the air.

"Feel better?"

"No, not really." She rested her chin on the kunoichi's should and watched the storm that they would be closing in on soon, wondering if this other Outside was as fucked up as this one.


	14. The Son Family

Kikyo groaned after another straight hour of seeing nothing but trees. "Just fucking admit it Tomoe, we're fucking lost and you have no fucking idea where the fuck we are," Kikyo growled. It has been _days_ since they left the terminal midget and clown to go through the storm. Since then, it felt like they had been wandering in circles in the forest they had landed in.

"Okay, A, I'm the one that gets to say fuck every other word, not you. Don't take my thing. And B, we are not lost, we are investigating new territories. I can get us back, but it's kind of the point to wander around looking at things in an attempt to figure out just what—"

"You have no fucking clue where we are." The first thing she did before was find people and steal their information, but this time they've just been wandering around the woods. She rolled her eyes, but halted. There was a person! On the other end of the field near the river! "I'm gonna go ask that guy." Kikyo pointed to a man that was standing near the river's edge several hundred feet away. Maybe he could tell them where to get to a town or some real food! If she had to each one more mushroom, someone was going to die.

"Kikyo wait! We don't just walk up to strangers and— and she's gone. Dammit, Kikyo!"

"Oi, you dumbass with the bedhead!" she shouted at a man in kill-me orange with spiky black hair. "Where the fuck are we?"

"Huh?" He cocked his head like a stupid dog.

"God dammit, Kikyo! You can't just go up to random fucking strangers and ask random questions! What if he's a S Rank rogue?"

"…and you didn't notice him before if he was? And what the _fuck_ kind of ninja wears _orange_?" She gestured to the confused man.

"You'd be surprised." Tomoe held up her finger. "And I'm not saying he _is,_ I'm just saying he _could be_."

"Then why is he standing out here in the open?"

"I'm fishing!" He added in a bubbly tone, apparently not minding the two people arguing in his midst.

Both Tomoe and Kikyo turned to look at him, almost seeming as if they'd forgotten the subject of their argument was actually still there. They blinked at him. "So he's definitely not a ninja," Kikyo announced.

"Either that or he's a fucking good one. I'm going with _not_ though."

"D-daddy?" a quiet voice asked from around the man's leg. A little boy with dark eyes and black hair cocked his head at the women. "Wh-what are those words? F—f—"

"No kid," Tomoe interrupted, wagging her finger at the small child that look startled at the interruption. "Those are adult words. Kids can't say them."

His eyes turned to Kikyo and he blinked several times before tilting his head a little like a puppy. "Are you a little grown-up?"

"Fuck yeah," she answered smugly.

"No, she just likes to pretend," Tomoe answered.

"Fuck you Tomoe." She scowled.

"Daddy, what does that word mean?" He tugged on the pants leg and glanced up at the man.

"Kikyo if you fucking say that fucking word _one more time_ I'm going to smack you into next week."

"I'd like to see you _fucking_ try!"

Tomoe's eyebrow twitched and many tick marks appeared on her head. Kikyo took a back stance, ready to wreck her shit when it came. The jonin raised her fist, but the orange man with the terrible hair stopped her, putting her in a Full Nelson.

Instep, nose, and groin. She then swung around and knocked the poor dumbass through several trees. Oh, that stupid dumbass, now his kid is an orphan.

"D—daddy?" The kid sniffled and tears ran down his face. Oh fucking yay, now he was crying.

"Oh shit! Tomoe! Fix it!" She pointed.

"Your dad's fine, kid," she scoffed. "…I think."

"Great, now we have another orphan in our troop."

"The fuck makes you think we're keeping it?"

"Well you did kinda killed its dad."

"So? When you kill a parent, you don't adopt the child. That's suicidal. Besides—"

"And yet you took me."

"Oi! I ain't the one that killed them, you little bitch. And _besides_ , as I was _going to say_ before I was so _rudely interrupted_ ," Kikyo flipped her off, "his dad's not dead. I may not be sure about _fine,_ but he's definitely alive."

And _that_ was the moment the orange dumbass returned, dusting himself off as he approached. He didn't have so much as a _scratch_. "Haha, you hit kinda hard! I haven't been hit like that in a while! We should spar sometime!"

Tomoe seemed unable to find words. Finally, "The fuck are you?" came out.

"Maybe you're just not as strong as you thought," Kikyo teased smugly. The jonin backhanded her charge before the dumbass could stop her. "OW! You bitch!"

"That's my name, don't wear it out. Be glad you're still injured or I'd have hit you harder."

"Bitch," Kikyo muttered, a sour look on her face.

"Hehe, you guys are funny. Do you wanna come eat dinner with us?"

"No."

"Sure."

"Tomoe~!"

"We are on a fact-finding mission Kikyo. And we haven't eaten today. Two birds, one stone."

"Tomoe~ can't we just kill the fucking bird and eat it~?"

"It's a metaphor, dumbass."

Kikyo's eyebrow twitched. "I know it's a fucking metaphor asshole! I just don't want to go to this dumbass's stupid fucking backwoods shack to eat god only knows what!" She wanted food, but not that badly!

The odd man blinked several more times, unsure of how to respond to the insults. "But… my wife is cooking and we got the fish."

"You see," Tomoe gestured. "Doesn't that sound nice?"

"… No." She took it back. Mushrooms sounded fine.

"Too fucking bad Kikyo, we're going to have lunch—"

"At the house of some weirdo that you bitch slapped into next week and he is not only unscathed but weirdly okay with it."

"…Okay, so he's a fucking moron. That doesn't mean we can't eat his food." She paused. "And just so you know, that bitch slap into next week… I totally pulled that punch."

"Uh-huh, sure you did." Kikyo rolled her eyes.

"I did you little bitch!"

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"You fucking little bitch! You totally stole my damn line!"

"Uh…" The man held his hand up and both women spun on him.

"WHAT?!"

"Well… I was just going to say we should hurry so lunch doesn't get cold. My wife would be really mad if that happened. Hehe." He scratched the back of his head.

"Fine, let's go." Tomoe gestured for him to lead.

"No way! I don't want to!"

"Kikyo, you're going even if I have to drag you by the hair on your fucking head."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Several minutes later they were coming upon the guy's house.

"DAMMIT TOMOE! LET GO OF MY FUCKING HAIR!"

"We're home!" the man called to the house.

"Okay, I guess I can let go now." The older woman released Kikyo's messy mane. The girl jerked away and rubbed her head. Stupid fucking Tomoe, she'd better watch her fucking back.

"Mommy!" the little boy called in the house.

"Chichi! We have guests!"

"Coming!" a female voice called from inside the little house. A woman with black hair pulled back and wearing a cheongsam stepped out of the front door. She stared at the duo for a second. "Hello, who are your new friends?"

The man opened his mouth to answer, but froze. He turned his head to Tomoe and Kikyo. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to ask your names." He scratched the back of his head.

"Goku!" the woman screeched. "That's so rude!"

"To be fair we didn't ask their names either, although I really didn't care to begin with," Kikyo muttered.

"Hello, I am Tadashi Tomoe. And this," She bowed politely and forced Kikyo's head down with her hand, "is my niece, Kikyo." Stupid fucking Tomoe. "Say hello Kikyo."

"Hello Kikyo." There was a fist to the smart ass's skull.

The little boy apparently found that funny. Kikyo spun on him. "You want one to match?!" He froze and hid behind his father, tears brimming in his eyes. "I thought so, you little pussy." She smirked.

"Kikyo!" Tomoe shouted, but before her fist could find the girl's head again something very hard found it first. The dark-haired woman was over the child with a… frying pan? Where the fuck did that come from?!

"Oi! I'm the only one that gets to fucking—" _Clang_. "OW! What the fuck is—" _Clang._ "You fucking bitch!" _Clang!_

Judging by the way Tomoe's hands were balling into fists, the lady was about to get it good.

"DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE AROUND MY SON! AND I AM AMAZED KIKYO'S PARENTS ALLOW YOU ANYWHERE NEAR HER WITH THAT MOUTH OF YOURS! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED, TEACHING HER THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE!"

"Yeah, Tomoe, you should be ashamed," Kikyo teased.

"Oi! You and I both know your dad is the one that taught you those words! I did teach you a few, but Ryunashi is the one responsible for the language!"

 _Clang!_ "Don't make excuses! And why do you even have this girl? Where are her parents?"

"Last I checked? Their ashes were in an urn somewhere about a thousand miles back," Tomoe snarked.

The woman blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, was I being too subtle? Her parents, my parents, my cousins, _our entire family_ is dead. Well, except Bakuryuu and his runts, but that's a whole 'nother story." She waved it off. "Oh, and Kikyo's sister, the one that killed them all."

The woman's mouth fell open.

"Wow Tomoe, just wow." The girl was completely stunned. "Should we _really_ count Oji?"

"Well he is _technically_ a Tadashi." She waved it off. "Count him, don't count him, I don't give a shit."

 _Clang!_

"Bitch!"

 _Clang!_

Before either woman could say another word, the orange man interrupted. "Uh, Chichi? Isn't lunch getting cold?" He held his hand up at the snarling woman with the deadly kitchen utensil.

The woman straightened her back. "Goku, honestly, where did you even find these two? They are so ill mannered."

"Oi!" Tomoe pointed at her. "I have manners! … I just prefer not to use them."

"Me too!" Kikyo added.

"Stay out of this."

"Hell no!"

 _Clang_

"Shit!"

 _Clang_

"Now," Chichi twirled her frying pan of doom. "Will you two behave yourselves long enough for a meal?" She asked both kunoichi whose heads were full of bumps from the blows of the blunt object.

"… I hate you right now, Lady." Kikyo glared.

"My name is Chichi."

"Whatever, better be some damn good food."

 _Clang-clang_

"Oi! Why'd you hit me?!" Tomoe whined. "I didn't say anything!"

"It's your fault she knows the words."

"I _told_ you, it's not! Ryunashi is the one that taught her the words! I just taught her to use them appropriately. Trust me, you wouldn't have wanted to meet the brat before I did."

"Um…" Kill-Me Orange asked. "Lunch?" His stomach growled loudly.

"Oh honestly Goku, you and your stomach." Chichi shook her head and pushed out the dents in her frying pan with her hand… wait, what? What the fuck was wrong with this family? "Come on in then," she huffed.

"Okay, I've got Chichi and Goku, what's the brat's name?" Tomoe indicated to the kid.

"I'm Son Gohan." The kid bowed.

"Okay see, that clears everything up," Tomoe said as they all entered the quaint little house and sat at the table.

"So," Goku said with his mouth full of food. "What are you two doing wandering around Mount Paozu?"

"Mount Paozu? I've never heard of that before."

"We're a way from West City," Chichi added. "You two must be awfully lost."

"Yes-no." the girls said at once.

"No, we're just out traveling and training." Tomoe gave Kikyo one of her 'you better shut the fuck up right now' looks.

"Training? That sounds like fun! We've got to have a sparring match after lunch!" Goku smiled. "It's been a while and I can't wait to loosen up!"

"Fine, but don't get Gohan involved. You know how I feel about him and martial arts." Chichi waved her fork at her husband.

"Don't worry, we wouldn't dream of involving your son." Tomoe waved at her. Kikyo wasn't paying much attention, she was too busy wondering where Goku was putting all of his food. One second it was there… and the next it was gone! Where the fuck did it go?! She watched as the man shoveled ridiculously large quantities of food into his mouth and never once choked.

"Hey," The little boy had chosen to sit next to Kikyo and was tugging on her sleeve. "Do you want to play after lunch? I have dinosaurs." He smiled an impossibly wide grin at her.

"Why would I do that?" She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Because the grown-ups are going to be doing grown-up things so I thought we could play."

"I don't play with toys," she stated blandly.

"Oh, that's okay!" The smile never left his face. "We can go outside and play hide and seek!"

Her eyebrow twitched. What was wrong with this kid? Didn't he get that she didn't want him near her?

"No."

"Sorry, kid, but I figure Kikyo will probably want to watch knowing her."

"Damn straight!"

 _Clang!_

"Tsk tsk," Tomoe clicked her tongue and shook her head, face amused. "Such _language_ , Kikyo."

"Fuck you."

 _Clang!_

"Dammit!"

 _Clang!_

Tomoe snickered. She was promptly smacked upside the head for it. "Hey! No fair!"

"Serves you right!"

"Brat," the woman growled. "Just wait until our next training session, we'll see who's laughing then."

"I'm so scared~."

"You should be." Her eyes moved to Goku's rapidly vanishing food and she whistled. "He eats like Hotaru and I didn't think _anyone_ could match that appetite."

Goku let out a loud belch. The kunoichi turned to see what food that was on the table completely gone. "Wow! That was good! Let's go spar now!"

"Okay, A, dude you ate my food. And B, why didn't you h—" Chichi's frying pan of doom came down on his head. "Oh, never mind. We're cool." She gave Chichi a thumbs up.

"Oh Daddy," Gohan shook his head. "Why can't he learn that bad manners at the table is detrimental to his health?"

Kikyo looked to the kid who couldn't even see over the table without a booster seat. "How old are you kid?"

He blinked before holding up three fingers proudly. "I'm this many!" He grinned.

Both kunoichi stared at him as though he were a strange creature they had never encountered before.

Chichi stood behind him. "You use your words, not your fingers Gohan." She scolded.

"Sorry Mommy, I'm three." He still held the fingers up but said the words as well.

"Okay that one's cute." Tomoe smiled.

"I'm going to be an orthopedist!"

Kikyo blinked. What the fuck was he? Apparently an orthopedist, whatever the fuck that was.

"You know kid, from what I've seen so far an orthopedist might be a bit under your skill set." Tomoe had a sweat drop.

"Can we go already?" Kikyo asked.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Goku jumped up. "Come on, I know a great place to spar!"

"Be careful! And be back before dark!" Chichi called from the door.

"Kikyo-san? Can we play when you and Tomoe-san get back?" The boy gave her a pathetic looking puppy dog face. Oh, that little bastard. That's a dirty fucking trick.

"He—"

"Sure she will kid!" Tomoe smiled and drug the younger kunoichi away.

"The hell Tomoe?!" Kikyo snarled as they walked through the woods. "Don't fucking sign me up for stupid shit like that!"

"Hey, I am your guardian and therefore I shall do whatever the fuck I want with you because I am your boss. Besides, you could clearly use a positive influence."

"Like hell I do!"

"I think some interaction with another little person will be good for you."

"I've had social interaction! Remember! We traveled around with that kid Law and Corazon for like two months!"

"… I don't think he counts."

"Why the hell not! We were clos-ish in age, we discussed things!"

"You plotted ways to destroy the world."

"…That's still discussing things! And don't act like you didn't correct us on some of our methods!"

"I'm just saying that playing with the kid won't kill you." No, but it might kill _him_.

"Sorry," Goku laughed from ahead of them. "Gohan gets a little bored sometimes. There aren't any kids this far out so I guess he's excited to have someone his age to play with."

"I AM NOT HIS FUCKING AGE!"

"Maybe not," Tomoe whistled. "but he's still smarter than you."

"HE IS NOT!"

"Okay, then what's an orthopedist?"

"… A foot doctor."

"Oh, so close, but so far away."

"What _is_ an orth—that thing. Chichi and Gohan told me but I forgot, hehe!"

"… How do you function?" Kikyo asked.

Tomoe sighed and rubbed her temples. "An orthopedist is a doctor specializing in the correction of deformities or functional impairments of the skeletal system, especially the extremities and the spine, as well as associated structures like muscles and ligaments."

"…huh?" Goku asked cluelessly.

"A bone doctor," the jonin sighed. "An orthopedist is a bone doctor."

"Oh! Okay!"

"All right, let's get this spar started before I start banging my head against a tree due to sheer stupidity."

"I didn't think you were that stupid, Tomoe," Goku responded, blinking.

Kikyo burst out laughing so hard she hit the ground. She was promptly kicked in the stomach so hard she flew to the other side of the clearing. Still worth it.

"It wasn't _my_ stupidity I was talking about." Tomoe ground her teeth. She got into her fighting stance. "Get ready, because I'm about to _really_ knock you into next week." She smirked.

Goku's goofy appearance melted away and an aura of confidence radiated off of the man. "Okay, this is going to be fun, I can just tell. But I'm warning you now." He got into his own stance. It seems so open, yet at the same time he didn't look vulnerable at all. "I'm not very good at holding back."

"Good, me neither." She allowed Goku to charge first and dodged his attack. He swung around with his foot, Tomoe blocked but the impact looked very hard and she skidded backwards quite a ways.

The kunoichi shook the pain from her arms and quickly followed with her own attacks. They flew by so quickly that Kikyo couldn't even follow them with her eyes, but somehow Goku seemed to be able to just fine. Was this goofy dumbass really this strong?

Their motions were just a blur for the longest time until they separated. Goku was breathing a little hard at that point. "Man! You're really strong! I'm going to need to take off my weighted gear just to keep up!"

"Your what?" The man removed his sweatbands, shoes, and his undershirt. All of said items hit the ground with a loud _crunch_ causing little cracks in the earth beneath them. "Whoa-ly shit." Kikyo blinked. He was wearing that the entire time?! He was strong!

Tomoe looked from the cracked ground to Goku and back before lifting her hand as if she were going to say something devastating. "I have an important question for you."

The man blinked. "You do? What?"

"Do you know a man named Might Gai?"

Who?

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"…just asking. Let's get back to the fight." By this point they both sped up expediently and Kikyo could only catch glimpses of them every so often.

"I thought you said you didn't know how to hold back?" Goku grinned as he wiped a little blood off his chin.

"I lied, be glad I can or you'd be dead." Tomoe scoffed.

"You sound awful confident there." Goku smirked.

"I am, in fact I'm still holding back."

"What?!" Goku looked like a kicked puppy. "You're still holding back?" He pouted. "Okay fine then, I have a few tricks up my own sleeve." He grinned mischievously. "Ka-me-ha-me—"

"What the hell kind of jutsu is—"

"HAAA!" A ray of blue and white light shot straight out of his palms.

"Whoa-ly shit!" Kikyo's jaw dropped at the power.

For only a split second Tomoe looked like she was calculating the amount of shit she was in before she remembered 'oh yeah, I can fucking dodge' and was able to move out of the way of the mysterious light as it plowed through the forest and possibly destroyed a mountain off in the distance.

"What the hell kind of jutsu is that?!" Tomoe snarled at the man.

Goku's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "You can't use ki?! I am so sorry! You're so strong that-that I just assumed and-and… I am so sorry!" He bowed.

Kikyo's eyes were wide. How did he do that!? And more importantly… could _she_ do that?! "That was awesome! Me next!" Kikyo waved her arm back and forth. "He's teaching me that whether he wants to or not!"

"Hush child. I need my answers first." Tomoe held her finger up to shush the girl. "Now, what in the fucking hell is ki?" She directed her attention back at Goku who was still muttering apologies.

"Oh…" He paused. "It's life energy that's in everything. I was trained to bring it out as a weapon."

"So… chakra?"

"… What's chakra?"

"Chakra is the mixture of…" She paused. "It's a special kind of life energy that can be used in several different ways."

"What kind of ways?" He cocked his head.

"You know, like gen, nin, and taijutsu." Kikyo put her hands on her hips.

"What's that?"

"Uh… well, genjutsu is—"

"Kikyo, you're going to waste your breath on this." Tomoe placed her hand on her shoulder. "It's best to show him. Go on, show him a henge or something."

Kikyo scowled. "I hate that jutsu."

"I know."

"Ugh, fine whatever." The girl brought the hand sign together. " _Henge_!" A cloud of smoke appeared and when it cleared a perfect copy of Tomoe stood where Kikyo once was. "Look at me, I'm Tomoe~ I think I'm so smart, but I'm really just a dumbass~" Kikyo stuck her tongue out and pulled down her eyelid. She was rewarded for her henge by a fist to the head, forcing the jutsu to come to an end. "Ow! Take a damn joke why don't you?!" Kikyo rubbed the back of her skull.

"Wow! There were two of you!" Goku clapped. "Ki can't do anything like that though. It's mostly light energy that just causes physical damage to the other person."

"Physical damage? You think it's a type of chakra nature?" Kikyo asked.

Tomoe cocked her head. "I don't think so, it didn't even really look like chakra."

"Let me try it!" Kikyo waved her hand back and forth.

"Kikyo, I don't think this is something that we can just learn." Tomoe scolded.

"How do you know?" the girl asked.

"Because if it's not chakra then it's a different kind of energy. A kind we may not possess."

"But…" She frowned. If it came from inside the body then it had to generate from the same basic kind of energy as chakra, right?

"Okay." Apparently Goku wasn't paying attention to Tomoe at all. "What you got to do. You gotta get into this stance here." He spread his legs into a horse stance. "And then you got to pull the energy from inside to the outside."

"Okay." Kikyo nodded and mimicked him.

"Is anyone listening to me?! Oh, just fuck you both. Just don't come crying to me when you can't do it Kikyo."

"Uh-huh." The kunoichi wasn't paying attention, but instead was watching Goku's instruction.

"Okay, now you need to gather it all up together here in the palm of your hands. Be sure to control it or else it will blow up in your face. Once that's done you push it out with all your might." A glowing orb had formed in his hands and he sent the blast out into the woods. Man, if she didn't get it soon there may not be a forest left afterwards.

"Okay." Kikyo nodded. Tomoe had moved and was leaning against a tree.

"I'm never going to hear the end of this." She sighed.

Kikyo pushed her weight into her back leg to steady herself as she pushed her energy outward. It felt weird doing it with chakra so she separated it into the two different types of energy it was comprised of. That felt much more natural for what the goofball was instructing her to do. She could feel heat gathering in her palms before she pushed her hand out and a white light beam shot straight out and set a line of trees on fire.

"Dammit! It didn't make a shape like yours!" She stomped her foot… Wait… she did it! Kind of, but still! "Tomoe! Tomoe! Did you see it?!"

The older kunoichi's jaw dropped to the ground. "How the-what-h-how the fuck did you do that?!" she shrieked.

"Haha! You're a natural!" Goku laughed. "My best friend couldn't form ki that quickly!"

"You hear that Tomoe? I'm a natural!" She held her head high. "Show me more!" She couldn't remember the last time she felt this excited about something. She could do this thing that Tomoe had never even heard of! It was powerful and even better, it didn't irritate her scar!

"You really wanna learn more?" Goku beamed, but the smile faltered as he spied the setting sun. "But the sun is setting, Chichi will be mad if I'm not home by dark."

Kikyo's mood dropped in an instant. "Well, can't you teach me tomorrow or something?" This would be better than wondering around in the woods at least.

He cocked his head and thought about it. "The thing is though, this kind of training can take a while and it's not exactly easy. It can put a huge strain on the human body."

"I can do it!" This was something new, something powerful. No one else in the Elemental Nations could do something like this! Kikyo _had_ to learn how to use ki! Even just one more lesson could give her the upper hand!

"Eh-hem." The clearing of the throat made Kikyo freeze. Shit, she forgot about Tomoe. "Don't you think someone _else_ should be involved in this decision?" She crossed her arms.

"Oh come on Tomoe, this could be great!" Kikyo tried to appeal to the adult. "Just one more lesson tomorrow? I learn something new and you don't have to deal with me for a while! See? Everyone wins!"

"No, everyone does not win. For one, you are _my_ responsibility and we know next to nothing about this man. For two, you are a _Tadashi_ and should therefore learn from a Tadashi. And for three, that moron there is bound to get tired of your little bitchiness as only a master of bitch can really tolerate it indefinitely. Unless of course he has _no_ brain cells _at all._ Which is debatable."

"He may not have any brain cells but you _did_ see what he can do right?" She pointed to the destruction. "Think of the opportunities this could hold for me!"

"Opportunities? If I let you learn this, you could destroy the village." She gave her a bland look.

"Or I could protect it," Kikyo argued back seriously.

Tomoe sighed and looked like she was thinking it over.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. "Please Tomoe!" She clapped her hands together.

Tomoe sighed and rubbed her temples. "Tch, we can stay for a few days so I can gather some information. For now, that's all I'm promising."

"Hahaha, this is great! I haven't had a training partner in forever!" Goku cheered as they walked back.

"Not a training partner, Idiot. You'll be teaching me that ki stuff so I'm not a training partner—"

"You're a student," he said with a smile.

"Student?"

"Yeah, isn't that what you call someone who learns under someone else?" His grin widened.

"I guess but—" He didn't look like the 'teacher' type. Granted, neither did Tomoe.

"Does that mean you're gonna be my student? That's so cool, I've never had a student before!"

"Gee, that's a fucking surprise," Tomoe mumbled.

"Careful~" Kikyo waved her finger. "We're close and we don't know how well Chichi's hearing is~"

Tomoe froze and quickly scanned for the other dark haired woman. "Ha! She's not even here!"

"Who's not here?" a female voice asked suddenly, making all three of them jump. Chichi looked at them with a confused expression while Gohan sat on her hip.

"Well sh—oot, you sure you haven't had any ninja training, Chichi?" Tomoe asked.

"Yes I'm sure. What are you two doing back here?" she asked.

"Eh, got caught up in conversation."

"Chichi, guess what?" Goku said like an excited child. "Kikyo's gonna be my student! Isn't that exciting?"

She blinked several times in surprise while Tomoe yelled at him. "I _told_ you we'd stick around for a couple of days! I never said anything about her _really_ being your student!"

"Don't I get a say in this?!" She marched over to her husband.

"I—well—of course Chichi!" he nervously said.

"Goku, I thought you were going to stop fighting after Piccolo. You have a family now and I don't want you gone all hours of the day fighting." She gave him a pleading look.

"He won't Chichi," Tomoe interrupted. " _If_ we decide to stay for a little while, Kikyo has assignments to make sure her school work doesn't fall behind and we have our own daily training sessions to go through."

"Assignments?" Her face brightened up significantly. "I'm so glad you're taking her schooling seriously, Tomoe." She smiled. "So, we'll see the two of you tomorrow?"

"I guess so."

"Where are you two staying at? Do you have some land around here? A house near the mountain?"

"Actually if it's fine with the two of you we'll just camp out near the river over there." Tomoe pointed.

"What?! No! No-no-no! How could I sleep knowing a young woman and a little girl are sleeping outside on the cold, hard ground?" Chichi waved her arms.

Kikyo raised her hand. "To be fair, I prefer trees."

"I actually do too," Tomoe agreed.

"Come on, come on. You two are welcome in our home."

"No, that's fine, Chichi." Tomoe waved. "We're more than fine out here, it's kind of comfortable."

"Don't be silly!" Chichi practically pushed the two into the quaint little house.

"What's so wrong with us sleeping outside? You don't even have enough room here to house us."

"We'll make room."

"But I—"

"You're staying. End of discussion."

"No! There's no way we're staying!"

Twenty minutes and one hell of an argument later, Tomoe scowled at Kikyo, tossing her a scroll. "Get changed, you're sleeping in the armchair, I got the couch." And that was that.


End file.
